Uragirimono
by celtic7irish
Summary: Yusuke and Hiei are captured. What happens to them will change both their lives. Okay, yes, the summary sucks. Yusuke x Hiei. Warnings: contains mention of attempted rape
1. Chapter 1

He awoke suddenly, his body jerking reflexively. Pain exploded across his nerves, shooting agonizing jolts up his spine and into his head. A low moan escaped parched lips as he shifted carefully, trying to avoid any further pain, feeling the restraints pulling against his limbs. Crimson eyes opened cautiously to allow them to adjust to the dim light of his prison.

Glancing around, Hiei took stock of his prison, trying not to alert his captors that he was awake. Of course, if they had been watching closely, they no doubt knew that he was now conscious, but he would prefer to err on the side of caution.

The first thing that registered in his mind was that he was alone, which meant that either his daring attempt had worked, or his companions were being held in separate cells from his own. He refused to wonder, however briefly, if Yusuke and Kurama were dead. They were much too strong to have been struck down so easily by a bunch of pathetic youkai.

_They took you out, didn't they?_ A treacherous voice whispered in his head, and Hiei scowled. He had only been captured because that fool Kuwabara had nearly gotten them all killed. Admittedly, he probably hadn't realized that one touch from the youkai's claws would have incapacitated him, permanently. And it really hadn't helped that the others had allowed themselves to be separated by the enemy, so that when Kuwabara was backed into a corner, only Hiei was close enough – and fast enough – to rescue the overgrown idiot.

Hiei took stock of his injuries while he had the time. Nothing seemed to be broken or heavily damaged. Mostly, it was superficial wounds, and the remnants of the youkai's poison slowly leaving his system that was causing him pain. His arms were wrenched behind him and angled upwards uncomfortably away from his body, leaving him with no leverage to try and break the shackles that bound him. His small stature left him at a disadvantage, because not even his feet touched the ground, so all his weight rested on his aching shoulders.

Hiei tried to pull himself up a little, but the short chains that linked his ankles to the floor had no give, and a low growl escaped the trapped fire demon as the pain shot across his shoulders and down his spine. Panting, Hiei relaxed as best he could, grimacing as his arms again bore his full weight. He shook off the irritation and settled in to wait. They'd come for him sooner or later, and when they did, they'd pay for his discomfort with their lives. He could afford to be patient…for now.

Imagining his enemies dying on the edge of his blade kept him occupied for several long moments. Of course, the fact that he seemed to be missing his katana might prove slightly problematic, but Hiei was confident he could get to this blade before they could stop him, just as soon as he could get free of his restraints. And then, everybody in this wretched place would bleed for him, and die screaming, writhing under the force of blade and fire while he used his Jagan to tear their secrets from them all. Nobody would be spared, and nobody would find mercy in him.

The door creaking open brought his awareness back to the present, and Hiei glared mutinously at the timid youkai that entered. The creature was even shorter than Hiei, and judging by the way he was cringing away from the chained half-breed, he was at the bottom of the food chain here. Moving forward tentatively, the youkai touched the chains bolted to the floor, following them up to the shackles around his legs, obviously checking that they were still holding against the furious captive.

Hiei snarled at the weakling, and it jerked its hand back as if burned. If only Hiei could get a hand free, he'd burn the pathetic thing to ashes, and his chains with him. As it was, the youkai just skittered backwards before aiming a small crossbow at Hiei and firing the dart contained within. Hiei grunted as it impacted, imbedding itself firmly in his left thigh. Almost immediately, he felt himself become light-headed, his focus slipping as he stared down the insolent youkai, who was cowering away from him, the crossbow reloaded in his shaking hands.

Another shot, and a snarl was ripped from Hiei's throat as the tranquilizer bit deep into his right hip, the youkai's terror having affected his aim. As his body weakened, his eyes closing as he slipped into unconsciousness, Hiei was aware of the door to his cell slamming shut, sealing him once more in darkness. His last thought was that the youkai who had just shot him would be the very first one to die the moment he was free, and there would be no mercy. Ever.


	2. Chapter 2

The next several days – or was it longer now? – passed in a drugged haze for Hiei. His captors seemed content to keep him sedated and unfocused. Now and again, he regained enough consciousness to realize that they were feeding him through tubes in his arms, but his awareness was always short-lived, the same tiny youkai coming in over and over to shoot him with tranquilizers.

After what had seemed like a week, but had probably only been about two days, Hiei was released from his bonds on the floor and ceiling and locked in a small cage, barely tall enough for him to stand in. He judged the distance to be only about three feet on either side of him. A collar kept him shackled to one corner of the cage, his movements still restrained.

His wrists were no longer bound, but they did him no good, unable to focus and draw on his power. He wondered deliriously if his captors had any actual plans for him, or if they just thought of him as a trophy, something to hold on to just because they could.

It was nearly six days later – according to the triumphant youkai that greeted him as he came out of his drugged haze – when he found out why he had been more or less left alone for so long. Between two burly demons, his arms trapped tightly between them, was Yusuke. His eyes were a dull brown, as he stared blankly ahead, seemingly unaware of his surroundings. His body was weak, broken. Beyond the cuts and welts that covered most of his naked body, there were bruises, layered one over the other, in a horrifying myriad of pain and what must have been nearly constant beatings. Crimson eyes picked out the broken bones – right wrist, left ankle, probably at least three ribs, if not five, and two of his fingers. Still, Yusuke seemed wholly unaware of the damage his body had suffered.

The moment he saw Hiei, though, really saw him, alive and unharmed, the fearless leader of the Reikai Tantei jerked, fighting his captors with a fierce snarl, his eyes lighting up in rage. The two large youkai holding him nearly dropped him, staring at the boy in surprise and utter confusion. One of them finally swung a fist that connected brutally with Yusuke's ribcage. The boy cried out, tears springing to his eyes before he fell limp once more.

Hiei bared his teeth contemptuously, then winced as Yusuke was unceremoniously tossed into the cage with him, the teenager's body curling up on itself, instinctively protecting vital areas from further damage. Hiei's heart ached for the boy, realizing that while he had been locked in here, drugged but unharmed, Yusuke had been suffering terribly at the hands of their enemy.

The smell of blood and worse things lingered on Yusuke's skin, and Hiei snarled at the youkai that stood right outside his cage, which had been locked again the moment the Detective was inside the bars. Instinctively, he moved to crouch over the other boy, fiercely protective of the only one who had ever trusted him and asked nothing in return but advance warning before he exacted his revenge and killed him. Kurama's trust was just as precious, but it was different, built on an alliance that was doomed to begin with. Only Yusuke's bright presence had kept the two youkai together long enough for something like real trust to begin to develop. Now, Hiei just hoped that his trust wasn't misplaced, that their friends were out there looking for them. Six days was a long time for no rescue to have arrived yet.

The leader of the three youkai smirked at him. "Don't worry, Forbidden Child. He's not dead, yet," he chuckled. "But I thought perhaps you'd want to see the one that tried to rescue you…all of you. Pity the other two got away," he lamented, and Hiei froze, holding his breath. So when he had been captured, Yusuke had tried to rescue him, which wasn't really a surprise. But he was relieved to hear that while Yusuke hadn't managed to save him, and had been captured himself, at least the other two had escaped, which meant that a rescue was still likely.

Or he could get them out of there himself, which would be his preference, but Hiei wasn't so certain of himself anymore. The drugs had weakened him, and slowed him down. Even with the clarity he now possessed, he knew that there was no way he could get both himself and Yusuke out of there. The Detective wasn't leaving here under his own power, and Hiei knew full well that they'd kill the boy if he managed to escape by himself. The thought brought Hiei no pleasure, and he damned himself for becoming so attached to Yusuke. He couldn't risk the half-breed's life, even at the cost of his own.

Still, as long as they were both kept together, perhaps there was hope. It would certainly make either rescue or escape much easier if they weren't separated, if they could keep track of each other. Glaring warily up at the three youkai, who seemed to be waiting for something, Hiei demanded, "Well? You have us. Now what? We're obviously not going anywhere," he scowled.

The demon grinned widely, and Hiei realized with a sudden horrible feeling that he had been trapped with his own words. "That's all I needed to know," the youkai practically purred. He gestured at the door, and Hiei followed where he saw pointing, his body tensing as he saw the small youkai with his crossbow shuffling closer. He hissed, and crouched, ready to spring and dodge as many of the tranquilizing darts as he could, despite his limited mobility.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. He might miss and hit your friend there instead. With the shape he's in, the drugs just might kill him." Hiei snarled furiously, baring his teeth, but he moved forward, his eyes promising death to those who were humiliating him. Two darts landed squarely in his right shoulder, and Hiei grunted at the impact, his vision already blurring. "Good lad," the youkai murmured, the patronizing, gloating voice grating across Hiei's nerves, even as his legs folded beneath him, dropping him to the floor.

His body lethargic and his eyes half-shut as he fought the heavy sedatives in his system, Hiei was only vaguely aware that his cage was being opened again, and large hands were reaching in, grabbing Yusuke. "Yus-," he managed to choke out, though after a moment, he wasn't entirely positive he had spoken at all. All he knew was that if they took Yusuke away, they just might kill him before help arrived.

Desperate now that they not be separated, Hiei looked up at them, swallowing hard. He scraped his hands along the stone floor of the cell, the minor pain helping him fight the drugs as he did something he had never, ever done before. "Please," he choked out, the word thick in his throat as he struggled to form a coherent sentence. "Don't." Frustration clouded his thoughts at his inability to express himself. Reaching out one slender arm, he made a last ditch effort. "Leave him. Chain…me," he offered, remembering the way he had been chained when he had first arrived, unable to gain any leverage to free himself.

The taller youkai was considering him thoughtfully as Hiei's eyes fell closed, the tranquilizers dragging him under. A light chuckle sounded in his ear, along with what sounded like an order of some sort. Large hands grabbed his arms, but Hiei was too weak to struggle now, realizing that they were doing as he asked, and leaving Yusuke in the cell with him. Relief poured through him, and he finally allowed the sedatives to do their job, unaware when another dart sank itself into his hip as his arms were twisted above and behind him, leaving him hanging in the chains again.

The last thing he heard was a dull thud as their cell door was shut, imprisoning him and Yusuke in darkness once more.


	3. Chapter 3

Hiei awoke to a grating, persistent voice. "C'mon, Hiei, wake up, man. I can't exactly come over there and kick your ass for that stupid stunt you pulled," Yusuke chuckled lightly, then winced as his ribs shifted. When he caught his breath again, he continued, "So the least you can do is keep me company, dammit!" He sounded frustrated, his words thick in his throat, and Hiei frowned. It sounded almost like…

Curiosity overcoming him, Hiei twisted his head around uncomfortably to stare at Yusuke. Crimson eyes widened as he realized that Yusuke was indeed crying, the tears trickling slowly down his face, though he appeared oblivious to what was happening.

Once Yusuke realized that he had Hiei's undivided attention, he smiled painfully, and the fire demon was shocked to see the relief in those expressive brown eyes, eclipsed by worry…for him. Hiei couldn't ever remember a time when somebody had been so obviously happy to see him alive. It was a heady feeling, and Hiei swallowed, suddenly uncertain of his standing with the Detective.

Covering his hesitation behind a cool glare, Hiei remarked mildly, "I think I preferred you unconscious, Detective." Yusuke just snorted, unimpressed, though he did duck his head down. When he raised it again to stare at Hiei, his body shifting in discomfort, his tears had been dried, and Hiei found himself relaxing, more comfortable now. Wincing, he shifted in his own bonds, but like before, the chains gave him no room to move.

"Oh, man, Hiei, that's gotta be uncomfortable. How long did they have you in those before throwing you into the cage?" Yusuke asked, his voice subdued. Hiei just shook his head, not answering. After all, he didn't even know if the youkai had been telling the truth about how long they'd been here, much less how long he'd been chained and drugged.

Yusuke sighed behind, and the sound of a body being dragged forward whispered across the room. A suppressed groan, and Hiei growled harshly, "Stop it, Detective. Are you trying to kill yourself? Toushin or not, your body can't handle much more damage."

A moment of silence met his ears, then Yusuke exclaimed gleefully, "Awww! That's so sweet of you to worry, Hiei! But in case you didn't notice, these guys don't intend to let up on us until we either give them what they want or they kill us. Since they don't seem to want anything in particular, I'm going to bet on the latter. And I refuse to just sit here and take it anymore."

"Oh? And here I thought if you could have fought your way out of here, you would have," Hiei retorted irritably. He regretted the words almost immediately, but couldn't find a way to take them back that didn't sound trite. After all, he didn't know how badly Yusuke had been hurt before he was even brought here. Wherever here was.

Yusuke sighed. "Normally, yeah, but I couldn't leave without knowin', ya know?" he asked softly, his street accent returning as the pain affected his concentration. And Hiei did know. After all, the only reason he hadn't fought harder, hadn't tried to use his dragon against his captors when they finally released him from the chains, was because he had to know if any of the others had been caught.

He twisted around again as he heard Yusuke start to stand, his breath coming in short labored pants. Now Hiei was certain he had broken ribs, and they were shifting. Aware that he was out of time, that Yusuke was going to try _something_, Hiei growled, crimson eyes narrowing as he summoned what power his scattered focus could manage. "Don't you dare, Detective. If you die on me, Koenma will have my head."

An impatient whuff of sound from Yusuke, before he snapped back, "Like you're in any better shape, Hiei! They might not have beaten you, but those drugs had to have messed with your system. You don't look right, like you can't focus properly or something." Hiei had to give the Toushin credit; he was more observant than Hiei had thought. Still, it hardly mattered. If they didn't do something, the youkai would be back, and they might try to separate them again. They had to make their move before that happened.

A small skittering to their left distracted Hiei, and he snarled viciously at the small youkai who was aiming a dart at him. The youkai flinched away, and the dart shot past Hiei, nicking his thigh. Ignoring the stinging pain, and the lethargy that was already creeping up on him from just that small brush of the tranquilizer, Hiei opened his third eye, the one that was normally hidden behind a seal. Power flowed through him, but even Hiei knew that if he tried to use his dragon now, it would likely devour him instead of his enemies.

A small burst of power, and the youkai was slammed into the wall as Yusuke's spirit gun connected with the small menace. The Detective's knees buckled, and Hiei heard him hit the floor of the cage, hard, a pained cry escaping gritted teeth. That little stunt had cost him, and Hiei was pretty sure that the brunt of the impact had been taken by Yusuke's broken wrist. Furious at the detective, and at himself, the fire demon continued to summon power, his skin tinting green as faint sketches of eyes appeared on his body.

Still, he was too weak from the drugs and lack of sustenance to maintain the level of power he'd need to break out of his restraints, and a chuckle echoed in the room as the door opened up. The same youkai who had brought Yusuke to Hiei's cell stood there, and the fire demon wondered if they were the only ones actually in this place, or if they were just the front line. If this was it, then the others shouldn't have any problem taking them out, once they were located.

"I must admit, that was a rather impressive, if useless, attempt at escape," the lead youkai applauded them, his golden eyes glinting in amusement. "I had suspected you would try something, but I hadn't been aware that Koenma's little pet still had that much energy left in him," he commented, gesturing vaguely towards the now semi-conscious half-breed. That spirit gun had taken all the energy he had left, and the backlash had no doubt been agonizing on his broken body.

"Still," the youkai mused, drawing Hiei's attention back to him, "I suppose that we mustn't allow you another attempt, hm? Or people might get hurt," he grinned nastily, sharp teeth glinting in the dim light of the cell. He made a sharp gesture to the two lumbering youkai behind him, and they moved forward, heading straight for the cage…and the unconscious Yusuke.

Hiei thrashed, though it was a rather ineffective gesture as the chains didn't give under his writhing. "Don't touch him!" he snarled, enraged. He was furious at the Detective for wasting his energy to defend Hiei, furious at the youkai who thought they could take and torture them without consequence, and furious at himself for not being able to do a damn thing about it! He had never tolerated failure well, in himself or in others, and this was no exception. "Damn it!" he howled, feeling the darts pierce his thighs and chest. Only adrenalin kept the sedatives at bay, and Hiei was forced to watch, helplessly, as the large youkai bent over an oblivious Yusuke, intent on picking him up and taking him to who knew where.

Later, Hiei couldn't say what happened. All he knew was that there was a sudden burst of light, then dust and screams and bodies everywhere, all at once. The wall caved in, he was pretty sure of that, but he remembered very little else beyond watching the giant youkai collapse, dropping Yusuke's body to the ground. His chains fell away a moment later, cut clean through a few inches above his wrists and below his ankles, and he fell to the stone floor as well.

Bodies leapt over and around him, and he could have sworn he saw the curves of a rose whip and the bright orange flash of hair that indicated Kuwabara's presence, but his focus was on the now unconscious body just a few feet away. Let the other youkai fight amongst themselves. Kurama could take care of himself, and would watch out for his tall human teammate, and Hiei couldn't care less about the others that had come to their rescue.

Reaching the Detective, Hiei managed to grab the human under the arms and drag him outside through the gaping hole in the cell wall. The idiots hadn't even bothered to tuck them deeper inside, leaving them in a room immediately accessible to the outside.

Once outside, he propped Yusuke against the side of the building and settled in beside him, his eyes drooping shut. Kurama would grab his katana for him, and maybe some clothes, and they'd get him and Yusuke out of there, which was all he cared about. Slowly, his eyes closed, the tranquilizers finally overriding the adrenalin and anger, and he fell unconscious next to his leader.


	4. Chapter 4

When Hiei awoke next, it was the sound of Yusuke thrashing in his covers, Kurama trying in vain to hush him without waking him. Realizing that he was sharing a bed with the Detective, Hiei forced his body to sit up, ignoring the small spell of dizziness that protested his sudden upright position.

Turning his head, Hiei watched dispassionately as the half-breed suffered through a nightmare, his wounds bandaged and no doubt still paining him. He risked a quick glance at Kurama's worried expression before looking back down at the Spirit Detective. Low groans fell from between clenched teeth, and Hiei realized that whatever he was seeing, it probably had something to do with their short imprisonment.

"Detective, wake up. You're not there," he growled, his voice low and rough with embarrassment at having to reassure the teenager. Slowly, the body next to his stilled, and sleep-glazed brown eyes opened, moving to stare up at him in the other boy's peripheral vision.

As the sleep cleared from his eyes, it made way for the fear, and Hiei cursed silently to himself, hating that look in the Detective's eyes. Yusuke must've seen something on his face, because his lowered his eyes to the blankets that were covering him, one bandaged hand idly tugging at a loose strand.

"Yusuke," Kurama murmured, his voice soft and soothing, but it had the complete opposite effect. Yusuke jumped and curled away from the sudden voice, closer to Hiei. He froze suddenly, as if his brain had finally caught on and realized just who it was he had flinched from.

Green eyes clouded with worry, Kurama reached out slowly and laid a gentle hand on Yusuke's shoulder. The Toushin endured the touch, but it was obvious from the way he held his body, stiff and unyielding, that it wasn't welcome. The fox frowned lightly, but didn't move his hand, obviously deciding that Yusuke had to overcome his aversion to his touch. Or maybe he didn't realize that the Spirit Detective was fully cognizant of who was touching him.

Yusuke let out a deep breath, and his body slowly relaxed, though only Hiei could see the effort it took to allow the comfort Kurama was trying to offer in the strain that showed around the younger male's eyes. Those eyes drifted up slowly to stare at Hiei, and the fire demon realized suddenly that a lot more had gone on than just near-constant beatings. Abruptly, Hiei remembered the other scents that had surrounded Yusuke when he had been brought in, and he glared sharply at the Detective, who just peered up at him blankly, his focus primarily on not recoiling from Kurama's gentle touch.

A low growl trickled from behind Hiei's clenched teeth as he finally though to wonder what had happened to Yusuke in the short time they were separated to bring his emotions so close to the surface. Yusuke met challenges with a cocky grin and the business end of his Spirit Gun. He understood instinctively that if one was to live to fight, then it was inevitable that they'd also have to fight to live. The Spirit Detective had never held a grudge against any of his opponents. As a matter of fact, his brash charm and easy attitude often turned opponents into friends and allies, even more so after he had inherited Raizen's territory.

Still, when he had first been dragged into Hiei's cell, where the fire demon had lay semi-coherent and useless in the damn cage, Yusuke had been almost apathetic to his surroundings. Or perhaps, Hiei realized with shocking clarity, it had been something more akin to despair. It had only been when his eyes had met Hiei's that he finally reacted, finally fought, struggling against his captors, his browns eyes alive and snapping fire. Now, though, Hiei wondered if perhaps there hadn't been some fear mixed in with the anger and desperation he had seen in Yusuke's eyes as the boy had struggled, further damaging his already weakened body.

Hiei remembered the tears and relief that his leader hadn't even bothered to hide when he'd seen that the smaller youkai was alive and relatively unharmed. He decided then and there that he'd find out exactly what those bastards had done to the Detective. Then, and only then, would he extract his revenge on every one of those who had survived the slaughter their rescuers had meted out, by the most horrible, gruesome, and agonizing means possible.

Hiei came back to himself with a start, realizing that Yusuke and Kurama were staring at him. Kurama gave him a warning glare, obviously suspecting some of his thoughts. The fire demon allowed his eyes to slip to half-mast, crimson orbs shielded from piercing emerald. Yusuke, on the other hand, was grinning widely, his lips curled back in a near snarl, and Hiei realized that he wasn't the only one thinking of going back to set the record straight. He'd have to keep an eye on the younger man, or Yusuke would probably do something reckless and stupid.

"Well, then!" Kurama said with a bright, false cheerfulness, clapping his hands together. "Since you're both awake now, how about some food? Something light, of course, but I'll bet you're both starving." As if on cue, Yusuke's stomach grumbled loudly and the Toushin grimaced, but nodded.

Seemingly happy now that he had something meaningful to do other than bandaging their wounds and sitting at their bedside, Kurama cautioned them to stay put, and he'd bring them something promptly. Yusuke grumbled something about not being able to move even if he wanted to and settled back against the pillows propped up behind him. Kurama shot Hiei one more significant look, then left them, closing the bedroom door behind him with a soft click.

As soon as the fox was gone, Yusuke winced and shifted, sliding a small ways down the bed and gingerly turning tonto his side, facing Hiei. It wasn't like he had much choice, though, since his other was pinned to his side, obviously broken at the wrist, and possibly higher. Hiei noted despairingly that it was the arm that he used to wield his Spirit Gun and wondered if the break had been a deliberate one, intended to take away the Toushin's greatest weapon.

"Yusuke," Hiei started, the unfamiliar use of the Detective's name sliding awkwardly off his tongue. The teenager just curled his body and closed his eyes firmly, obviously not wanting to talk about it right now. The fire demon understood the desire to keep humiliation to oneself, and while he knew that Yusuke would eventually have to talk, or break, he backed off for the moment, realizing that pushing the younger male now would probably result in an argument that he wasn't sure Yusuke's healing body could handle. So he'd let the other boy keep his secrets. For now.

Silence settled over the two companions, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Yusuke needed time sort out things in his head, to come to terms with a perceived failure, and Hiei was willing to give that time. Much of Hiei's willingness had to do with his own desire to not bring up anything that would lead to awkward, angst-ridden conversation. If Yusuke could get through the hard part on his own, all Hiei would have to do was keep an eye on the Toushin to make sure he didn't run off on his own.

Apparently, Yusuke hadn't gotten the memo, because he uncurled a moment later and peered up at Hiei intently. The fire demon met his gaze evenly, but didn't move, having no desire to find himself dealing with a freaked out Spirit Detective.

"Worried that I'm going to flip out again, Hiei?" Yusuke teased, though there was an unexpectedly serious note coloring the question. Not bothering to wait for an answer, Yusuke continued. "Sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to jump like that. I just…didn't feel Kurama behind me." Hiei frowned, but didn't reply. Yusuke must be a lot weaker than he looked to not even realize that Kurama had been in the room with them.

Yusuke's thoughts must have been scrambling around in his head, because his next words caught Hiei off-guard. "What did they do to you?" he asked, brown eyes wide in query. Hiei debated not answering for a moment, but then decided the other male deserved at least that much from him.

A small rise in the level of his ki warned Kurama to stay away a few more minutes, then crimson eyes met chocolate. "Nothing," Hiei said plainly. When Yusuke's brow furrowed in disbelief, he clarified. "When I woke up, I was chained. They kept me drugged and incoherent. Eventually, they moved me to the cage, then rechained me after…they brought you in," he admitted. There was no way he was going to admit that he had practically begged his captors to chain him rather than take Yusuke away.

Yusuke's eyes slipped closed, his lips tightening, and Hiei fell silent. Anything he said at this point would only make things worse. Instead, he allowed his energy levels to drop, indicating to Kurama that they were finished. Brown eyes opened, and one brow lifted in vague amusement as the Detective caught on to what Hiei had been up to. He closed his eyes again, but when Kurama walked in a moment later, carrying a tray of soup and sandwiches, his nose twitched and he reopened them, the lure of food more tempting than sleep.

Wincing, Yusuke struggled a moment to push himself up with only one arm. Hiei would have allowed him to make his own way into an upright position, knowing how much pride the other male had, but Kurama obviously didn't care, or knew otherwise. Setting down the tray, the fox reached out and gently helped Yusuke to shift, exerting gently pressure on his back and shoulders until the boy was more or less in a sitting position.

"Here you are," Kurama stated, handing each of them a bowl of hot soup. Hiei gazed at it distrustfully, but Yusuke just started eating, once Kurama had handed him a spoon. Grimacing, Hiei put a spoonful of soup to his mouth, cautious. Deciding that the soup was edible, the smaller youkai took another bite.

As they ate, the aptly named chicken noodle soup both filling and soothing on their throats, Kurama filled them in on the rescue. Apparently, the place they were being held had been swarming with mid-level youkai. There were a handful of S-class youkai to keep them in line and to discourage others from being too nosey about their business.

It had taken them so long to mount a rescue because they had to not only have a viable plan on attack against such large odds, but they had needed to procure the consent of the toushin race to move through their territory, as their prison was hidden deep in Raizen's – now Yusuke's – lands. It had taken some serious pleading to gain both their permission to cross and their promise to not interfere in the rescue.

When the young Mazoku heard that their attackers had been bold enough to encroach on his lands, he lost it. His eyes bled gold, the markings of his heritage dark against tanned skin, lips pulled back in a fierce snarl, showing long canines as his hair exploded with sudden growth, trailing across the bed.

Hiei tamped down viciously on the urge to reach out and pet that hair, to see if it was as soft as it looked. Shooting the fox a glare that promised something just shy of death, the fire demon threw himself across Yusuke's body before the enraged male could stand. He didn't expect the sudden punch, and grunted as Yusuke's fist connected with his stomach.

Huffing as the breath was knocked from him, Hiei transferred his grip from Yusuke's shoulders to his wrists, his hold unrelenting as his nails cut into tender flesh, leaving bloody crescents on the Toushin's wrists. Still, the sudden spark of pain didn't bring Yusuke back to himself. Instead, he only struggled harder, nearly bucking Hiei off the bed as he thrashed, his eyes wide with fear and rage.

A second pair of hands joined Hiei's as Kurama pinned the Toushin's shoulders to the bed, keeping him from throwing Hiei off. Grimly, Hiei allowed his body to slide downwards so that he was straddling Yusuke's thighs, his legs locked tightly as he listened to Kurama plead with Yusuke, trying to get through to him. Realizing that words weren't working, and that pinning Yusuke down had only served to throw him into a near-panic, Hiei gave up on thought, gave up on everything but calming the other male down.

Stretching upwards so that he could reach, Hiei dipped his head and bit down, hard, at the junction where Yusuke's neck curved into his shoulders. The metallic taste of blood flooded his mouth, and he growled low in his throat even as the scent hit his nostrils, nearly overwhelming. He ignored Kurama's sharp rebuke, noting vaguely that the fox had made no moves to pull him away from Yusuke.

The body beneath his stiffened, caught between the need to fight and the instincts that demanded he submit to the other youkai. Hiei growled again, the sound both warning and reassuring, and Yusuke relaxed, his body falling limp as he realized where he was and what was happening.

Once he was certain that Yusuke wasn't about to attack again, Hiei released his hold, swiping his tongue almost apologetically over the mark he had left, the damage already healing. Pulling back, he scowled at the Toushin. "Temper tantrums will accomplish nothing!" he spat, the lingering rich taste of the other boy's blood filling him with bitter remorse, which irritated him. It had worked, hadn't it? Yusuke was aware of his surroundings and absolutely mortified, as he should be. So why did Hiei regret having done it?

Yusuke flashed him an apologetic grimace, his hand scratching idly through his hair. Giving the long strands a sharp yank, the Mazoku fell silent for several moments, staring blankly down at his hands where they now rested on his lap. Hiei and Kurama patiently waited out the silence, realizing that Yusuke was trying to come to terms with the new, unpleasant information, and was bracing himself for the rest. Because Hiei was positive there was more yet to be said.

Finally, Yusuke lifted his head, turning to stare straight at Kurama, his gaze intent and focused. "What about the leader? The one in charge? Did you get him?" Something about his tone said that he already knew the answer, even if he didn't realize it yet. Emerald eyes lowered as Kurama shook his head slowly, and Yusuke growled. Hiei watched carefully for any signs that he was going to try to leave again, but relaxed when Yusuke just glanced at him before turning to stare back down at his lap, obviously remembering Hiei's biting criticism from the first time.

"So…he's still out there. In my territory," Yusuke said finally, his frustration evident. "Are my people doing anything about it? Or are they waiting for me to make a decision?" That he even asked showed that Yusuke knew his subjects well. The toushin had never been ambitious enough to take action without the direct instruction of their leader, or his second-in-command.

Kurama smiled lightly at his friend, who just blinked back at him, waiting for an answer to his question. "The Toushin people have sealed off the place where you were kept, and have sent scouts through your lands, trying to ensure that there are no straggling rogues left. Unfortunately, this leaves us at a bit of a dilemma, because we now have no idea where they've gone to. Not very many escaped, making it much easier for the few that did to hide."

Yusuke snorted at the fox's apt assessment, well used to Kurama's ability to strategize, and to see all sides of a problem. It was part of what made him so valuable to the team as a whole. Hiei just smirked at Kurama, who gave him a mildly amused expression in return. They had been partners for years, and while Yusuke hadn't been with them for very long, relatively speaking, he was quickly adapting to their various quirks and abilities.

Just then, Kuwabara decided to drop by, his loud voice echoing through the house as he shouted for Kurama. With a slight flinch and a long suffering sigh, which greatly amused his two friends, the red-head stood to go greet their newest arrival, and to hopefully keep him from jumping Yusuke as soon as he saw him.

The two males were left alone once more as the door shut quickly behind Kurama, and muffled voices could be heard downstairs. Yusuke, as if only now realizing just how much pain his body was still in, winced as he shifted onto his good side once more. Hiei just watched him, making sure he didn't hurt himself further.

"Why is it that the bite mark healed so fast after you bit me, but the other pains won't disappear?" Yusuke growled, though growl was perhaps too strong a word. Rather, it was more like a pitiful mewl, and Hiei almost flinched to hear it coming from their strong leader. Still, he answered the question that Yusuke had asked, because to answer the other ones would take them both into territory he wasn't sure he wanted to deal with.

"The bite was a one-time incident, and I didn't really bite that deep," Hiei replied. "The other…injuries on your body were inflicted repeatedly, and over a period of time, so they'll heal slower. Also, I'm sure that they either drugged you with something, or used some sort of topical…ointment to ensure that the healing was slowed down even further." Even choosing his words carefully, Hiei could see the Toushin cringe at the word 'ointment'. No, he really, really didn't want to go there. Still…Yusuke had attempted to get them out of there, draining the last of his energy and no doubt further injuring his broken wrist when he shot that Spirit Gun blast. Pity it hadn't killed their enemy.

Slowly, Hiei reached out a hand, making sure that Yusuke knew he was there. The other male narrowed his eyes, but didn't snarl at him or move away, so Hiei briefly touched two fingers to his leader's lips. "Thank you," he muttered, and then moved the hand away, meeting Yusuke's puzzled stare.

Tilting his head to the side, Yusuke asked him bluntly, "Is that a youkai thing? Or just a you thing?" His gaze expectant, the Toushin blithely ignored Hiei's attempt to ignore him in return. Hiei debated asking the boy another personal question, just to see if he'd forget about the thanks, but decided that it would be cruel of him.

Finally, the fire demon shrugged. "It's…something that I picked up while running with a group of cat youkai for a few years. They were very open and affectionate amongst themselves, and a touch to the lips or heart or waist were used to show thanks, depending on the level of comfort between the two youkai."

Yusuke nodded, his gaze distant, and Hiei wondered what the boy was thinking. Perhaps he shouldn't have done that? But he relaxed a moment later when Yusuke flashed him a wicked grin, his eyes dancing in amusement. "I guess there's a lot of youkai out there I know nothin' about, huh? And how'd you end up with cat youkai anyhow? Did they think you were a kitten?"

Hiei blinked, completely nonplussed as Yusuke chuckled at his own wit. Slowly, the bemused expression darkened into a scowl and he glared at the impertinent male, the urge to put him in his place outweighed only by the knowledge that Yusuke probably couldn't handle a beating in his current condition.

Slowly, Yusuke's chuckles died down, but the shaking didn't stop, and Hiei realized with utter horror that the other boy was crying again, completely silent as his body tried to curl up, then straightened again with a pained moan. Hiei debated calling for Kurama, but then decided that the fox had enough on his hands informing Kuwabara of his best friend's condition without having to worry about Yusuke having a minor melt down.

Instead, memories of the cat youkai still crystal clear in his mind, Hiei did what they had done for him…he offered the comfort of his body. Scooting closer to the boy suffering silently on the bed, Hiei pressed his body against Yusuke's chest, burrowing his head under the other boy's chin. He was too short to wrap his body around Yusuke's, so the other boy would just have to settle for this instead.

One hand pressed firmly against Yusuke's heart, trapped by both their bodies, and the other lay lightly on the Toushin's hip, just resting there. Burrowing his face against Yusuke's chest, Hiei let his warm breath sweep across the broad expanse of skin, comforting.

Slowly, the vibrations stopped, as Yusuke realized what was happening. Then, so hesitantly that Hiei nearly growled at him and quit the entire thing, strong arms wrapped around his waist, curling around to his back as the other boy buried his face in Hiei's soft hair with a quiet sigh. "Thanks," he murmured. Hiei just grunted, and neither youkai made another sound, the low murmur of Kurama's conversation with Kuwabara lulling them both to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Hiei awoke in a blind panic, unable to breathe as bands tightened around his shoulders and chest. Gasping for air, the fire demon shoved himself downwards, rolling onto the floor and crouching there, his katana already in his hands and ready to attack. When nothing happened except a low moan of distress that wasn't his, Hiei blinked, glancing around as he got his bearings. Realizing that he was still in Kurama's bedroom, and that he had fallen asleep next to Yusuke, he straightened up with a scowl, sheathing his blade and setting it in the far corner, where he had grabbed it from.

Shaking his head at himself, Hiei decided that he'd better stop falling asleep. He was far too comfortable surrounded by the spirit energy of his friends, and it was a dangerous habit to fall into. Koenma would have killed him if he had accidentally stabbed Yusuke in a moment of confusion. Speaking of Yusuke, it looked like the boy was having another nightmare, judging by the way he was curled up on himself, low moans escaping, along with the occasional whimper. His long hair was soaked, strands clinging to his face as he slept, unable to wake from whatever nightmare had gripped him this time. Tears of suffering leaked from his eyes, and his hands were curled into claws, his legs spasming and twitching uncontrollably.

Wondering where the hell Kurama was, and why he wasn't here to deal with their leader, Hiei quickly located the note on their bedside table. Apparently, Kurama had taken Kuwabara to go see Genkai, in the hopes that the old lady might some insight on how to help Yusuke. Hiei scowled; that was all well and good, but couldn't they have waited until later? As in, after Yusuke had recovered physically and could go with them?

A muffled snarl ripped from Yusuke's throat, and Hiei whirled around, eyes wide. Brown eyes were open unseeingly, as the other male bared his teeth at what Hiei presumed was an enemy. The half-koorime had a feeling that things had just gone from bad to worse. Making a split second decision, before Yusuke attempted to launch himself from the bed and attack, Hiei pulled the seal off his Jagan, opening his third eye wide and staring straight at Yusuke. It didn't matter that the taller male wasn't awake; all he needed was the contact, as he imposed his will upon the weakened Toushin.

Slowly, Yusuke settled, his eyes slipping closed as Hiei forced his body to calm. Deciding that, since nobody else was here, it was up to him to get to the bottom of things as quickly as possible, Hiei settled back on the bed, pulling Yusuke's head into his lap and cupping his hands on either side of the other boy's face. Closing crimson eyes, leaving only the Jagan open, Hiei plunged into the other boy's mind, and straight into his continuing nightmare.

The first thing he noticed was that he was strapped down. Bands of metal were shackled around his wrists and ankles, bolted to a cold steel table. Another, thicker band crossed his chest, keeping him from getting any leverage. Yusuke felt as though he was being suffocated.

Hiei scowled, remembering why he hated rooting around the memories of other people. He was completely helpless here, unable to save himself or Yusuke from what was coming, forced to suffer alongside the younger male. Right now, Yusuke was staring up at the ceiling, anger and fear fighting for dominance as he realized that he couldn't break free of the restraints that imprisoned him.

The stone ceiling was the same in the one in Hiei's cell, except that there were darker patches spread haphazardly across the stone above the table where Yusuke lay. Slowly, realization dawned, and Yusuke felt nauseous as he realized it was blood, splashed all over the ceiling. Hiei wanted to close his eyes, but since Yusuke's eyes were now wide open as the fear finally won, he had no choice but to turn his head to the left, his stomach and chest heaving violently as Yusuke was sick, the fear and drugs turning his stomach. Most of the vomit landed off the table, but the smell made Yusuke wrinkle his nose, his queasy stomach threatening a second rebellion.

Still, it helped him calm down a little, and Yusuke turned his head away, the only real movement allowed to him. His fingers, which had been moving and twisting restlessly, were now rubbing along a deep indent that ran the length of the table. Yusuke had a sinking feeling he knew what that groove was for, his gazed riveted on the large drain set in the floor of the cell.

"Focus, dammit," Yusuke muttered to himself, finally closing his eyes, much to Hiei's relief. The fire demon had seen his share of rooms exactly like this one, but he found himself wishing futilely that Yusuke had remained as naïve and clueless as always. Standard torture methods were only the beginning. This was a place designed with a single purpose – to break those who were unlucky enough to enter it as prisoners.

Hiei's own heart rate slowed as Yusuke's did, the other boy trying to meditate deeply enough to leave this place behind. The stench of fear and old blood and vomit was too strong to ignore, however, and Yusuke gave up shortly, opening his eyes once more to stare lankly at the ceiling, trying to gather his focus enough for a Spirit Gun. As soon as whoever had him opened the door, they were dead. Then he'd find Hiei and get them both out of this place.

Thinking about his fiery little companion, who would no doubt grumble about not needing to be rescued by the Toushin, Yusuke finally calmed down to a reasonable state, and settled down to prioritize. First, destroy the enemy. Second, find and rescue Hiei. Then he could worry about where they were and why. Right after he hunted down the toddler and demanded to know why, exactly, Koenma's people hadn't seen this coming.

The door creaking open broke Yusuke from his musings, and he fired the Spirit Gun, wincing as the shock of it jolted his immobilized arm. A terrified shrieked followed his attack, and Yusuke grit his teeth, cursing profusely as he realized that the scream had come from much closer to the floor than Yusuke was, which meant that he had missed entirely. It also meant that he had lost the element of surprise.

A dark chuckle sounded from the doorway and Yusuke readied a second attack, determined to hit someone this time. As he prepared to fire, a snarl ripped from the unseen enemy, and a cold voice threatened him, "Fire that again and your fierce little companion dies." Yusuke hesitated for just a moment, and suddenly the youkai was standing beside him, sneering down at the bound male, a bruising grip digging into the flesh of his forearm, above his bound wrist.

Yusuke stared mutinously up at the grinning youkai, who merely continued to smile pleasantly, even as he jerked Yusuke's arm upwards. The Toushin's wrist was still strapped down, and against steel bands, his bones lost. Yusuke screamed as his wrist was crushed against the unforgiving steel, the pain excruciating as the limb was broken.

"There now, that takes care of that," the youkai chuckled nastily, his eyes gleaming as Yusuke tried valiantly to swallow his sobs, unable to pull his wrist to his chest and cradle it. Even the smallest movement caused shattered bones to shift against each other, sending pulses of agony spiking up his arm.

Hiei swore violently from his vantage point as Yusuke stared up at the youkai through tear-blurred eyes. The youkai was now leaning over him, his foul breath burning Yusuke's nose and making him want to retch again. A clawed hand brushed carefully through Yusuke's short hair and down his face before gripping his chin, claws digging in just enough to draw blood.

The small, sharp pain helped Yusuke to refocus, giving him something to concentrate on other than the agony in his arm. Seeing that he had Yusuke's attention once more, the youkai hummed with pleasure, his other hand dragging its way down Yusuke's throat and chest, coming to rest just above his ribs as he spoke, the words chilling Yusuke more than the uncaring violence of before.

"So used to winning, aren't we, Spirit Detective?" the youkai practically purred, silver eyes glowing eerily in the half-light of the room. "So used to always getting yourself out of trouble just as easily as you get yourself into it. But not this time. Oh, no, because this time…you've brought a friend along. That changes everything, doesn't it?" he asked. Yusuke didn't know if he actually expected an answer, so he kept his mouth shut, refusing to dignify that question with a response.

Quick as a snake, the youkai dug his claws in to Yusuke's waist and dragged his hand along his stomach, carving into his flesh from one side to the other. Yusuke screamed, his body straining as he struggled to escape the torment, his broken wrist sending waves of pain up his arm and shoulder. It was several moments before he could swallow the pain down enough to focus again, aware that his body was already healing the claw marks. Still, the youkai's hand was back on his bare flesh again, pressed lightly against his ribcage, and Yusuke knew that it wouldn't take much to provoke him into striking again.

"Just to make myself absolutely clear, Yusuke-kun," the youkai taunted, watching as the Spirit Detective flinched at the familiar term, "when I ask a question, I expect you to answer. If I don't like your answer, or if I think, even for a second, that you're lying, I won't hesitate to hurt you. After all, you're not the only toy I have, though I rather suspect you'll be easier to break." Reaching down, he grabbed Yusuke's forearm again, and the boy bit down hard on his lips, breaking the scream and moaning like a dying thing when the youkai rebroke his slowly healing wrist.

"Do that enough times, and it won't heal so quickly anymore," the youkai informed him smugly, obviously enjoying himself immensely. Yusuke resisted the urge to tell the youkai that he could go jump off a cliff headfirst, and instead settled for training wary brown eyes back on his tormenter, who smiled at seeing that he had the Toushin's attention once more.

Nodding in satisfaction, the youkai continued. "As you've guessed already, detective, I have not only you, but the little half-breed known as Hiei, the Forbidden Child. Now, nothing's been done to him…yet," he promised, silencing Yusuke's unvoiced question with a hand around his throat, cutting off his air. "As long as you entertain us, it will remain that way. But the moment you try to attack, or escape, we'll kill him. We'll torture him first if we have time, but we can just as easily kill him. It'll be a bit disappointing, but don't think I won't order it if you try something stupid."

"So now it's just a question of how much you can survive," the youkai grinned, his clawed hands trailing down the outside of Yusuke's thighs to his ankles. "Because the longer you live and remain unbroken, the longer he lives. Understood?" When Yusuke just nodded, his captor narrowed his eyes, snapping one of Yusuke's toes as easily as a twig and listening as the boy whimpered. "I expect a verbal answer. Am I understood?" he asked one more time.

"Yes," Yusuke whispered, closing his eyes and screaming as claws raked up his body, tearing flesh as they moved, a cruel chuckle echoing through the room.

Yusuke woke up with a gasp, his body thrashing, and Hiei just bowed over his head, closing the Jagan and murmuring, "I'm here, you're here. It's okay, Detective. We're alive. We're safe. It's okay." He didn't know where the words came from, but it seemed to work, because Yusuke settled down slowly, breathing heavily as he stared up at Hiei in wide-eyed fear.

"Hiei?" he asked, almost hesitantly, one hand reaching upwards and pausing just in front of Hiei's face. The fire demon reached out and grabbed his hand gently, bringing it back to press against his cheek as he continued to soothe the other boy.

"Yes, it's me. I'm here. Do you remember where we are? What happened?" he asked, his voice uncommonly gentle and coaxing, and Yusuke frowned, his gaze unfocused as he tried to process what Hiei was asking him. Finally, he looked around the room and relaxed with a sigh, his breathing slowly returning to normal as he recalled where he was and what had happened.

Reaching up to run a shaking hand through his hair, Yusuke shuddered out a quiet sigh. "Yeah, yeah. Nightmare. Got it." When his hand brushed against Hiei's stomach, he froze, blinking. Hiei just smirked, waiting for realization to sink in and expecting Yusuke to startle, probably stretching healing wounds in the process. Just in case, he set his hands on the Detective's shoulders, ready to push him back down if necessary.

Yusuke surprised him, though. Instead of bolting like a startled buck, he just flushed to halfway down his chest, but he didn't move, and after a moment, the flush faded and he stared back up at Hiei with a forced casualness. "Is there a reason I'm in your lap, Hiei? And better yet," he added, his eyes narrowing with the first signs of anger, "there had better be a damn good reason for you being in my head!"

Hiei grimaced; he had rather hoped that Yusuke was too distracted by the nightmare itself to realize that he had been along for the ride. Obviously, that wasn't the case, but Hiei certainly wasn't about to admit to any wrong-doing. So he went with the truth instead. "I need to know what happened, Detective. Kurama and I can't help you if we don't know the truth. And I don't think you're up to discussing it," he stated bluntly.

Yusuke grumbled up at him, "How do you know? You didn't ask!" He shifted, and Hiei pressed down on his shoulders, discouraging him from rising. A stubborn look came over Yusuke's face and he growled up at Hiei, who just scowled back down at him, his hands tightening harshly on the other male's shoulders. There was no way he was going to let the other male move right now; he'd injure himself for sure.

Still, he had underestimated Yusuke's determination. With a snarl, the Toushin flared his ki so that the pressure of it nearly scorched Hiei's skin, and then he twisted, grunting with pain as he slipped out from under Hiei's grip, rolling off the bed and onto the floor with a loud thump. Hiei, his eyes wide, scrambled rather clumsily across the bed, peering worriedly over the edge. Yusuke glared up at him, his eyes bright with pain and anger and confusion.

"Dammit, Hiei! The next time you want to know what's going on, you ask! What the hell is wrong with you?" Yusuke snapped, his anger giving him enough of a focus to distract him from the pain he was probably in. Hiei wanted to ask Yusuke the same question. Didn't the other man understand that Hiei was just trying to help? He hadn't had the power to save Yusuke in that horrible place, but he could memorize the faces of everybody who had laid so much as a claw on the other male, so that he knew exactly who he was killing, and why.

Reaching down cautiously, but determined to get Yusuke back onto the bed before Kurama came home and scolded him, Hiei held out his hand and waited, crimson eyes staring neutrally down at the other boy, who hadn't moved from his sprawled position on the floor. After several uneasy moments of staring, Yusuke huffed. "Should've known better than to ask, huh? You don't give anything away, you sneaky bastard." But his grumbling was just the normal complaining he did whenever Hiei or Kurama went and did something he thought was stupid. Kuwabara usually just got a beat down instead.

Finally, Yusuke reached up and gingerly accepted Hiei's aid, and the youkai helped the other man to his feet, strong enough to do it without moving from the bed, which dipped underneath him with the added weight. It didn't go unnoticed by Yusuke, but the other boy was in too much pain to bother asking a lot of questions, and he just crawled onto the bed and lay on his stomach with a soft groan.

Checking to make sure that Yusuke hadn't started bleeding again, Hiei pulled the covers back over the both of them and shifted carefully, pressing himself against Yusuke's side. The other boy stiffened, but Hiei ignored it, one hand reaching up to run through the other boy's hair, hoping to calm him. "I…apologize, Detective," Hiei offered with a mild grimace – he did _not _apologize, especially when he was actively trying to help someone who didn't know enough to be grateful. "Human emotions are foreign to me. You are a youkai, but I forget that you do not always see things like youkai do. It was an error on my part."

There, he had apologized for his miscalculation without actually apologizing for invading Yusuke's mind while he was dreaming, which he didn't regret in the least. It had been the Detective's own fault that he had fallen out of the bed regardless. Hiei didn't attack his enemies when they were weak; he most certainly wouldn't attack someone he could almost consider a friend. Almost.

Yusuke groaned quietly into the pillows, then settled down with a sigh, but Hiei could see that his body was tense, his back practically quivering with tension. He'd never heal properly if he kept straining his muscles when he should be resting. Making a decision, Hiei grunted, "Don't jump," and slid out from under the covers, moving to straddle Yusuke's hips, his legs easily holding him off of the younger male's injuries.

Yusuke startled, but stayed down when Hiei pressed lightly on his back, his muscles relaxing slightly. Hiei smirked; the boy assumed that if he was facing away from the half-koorime, he wouldn't be able to use the Jagan. Still, that wasn't his intention at the moment. Slipping the covers down just slightly, he tucked the blankets down around Yusuke's hips and went to work.

His hands were always warm, though he wasn't sure if that was genetics or just him, but his touch had the desired effect; Yusuke relaxed further when he started rubbing up and down the other boy's spine, spreading his hands out to press along his shoulders and sides, slender fingers easily locating knots of tension and forcing them to smooth out. He was careful not to press directly on any of Yusuke's injuries, though he was pleased to note that they seemed to be healing relatively quickly. Another two days, perhaps, before the whip and claw marks were little more than a horrible memory. The broken bones would probably take longer to heal, but Hiei had already noticed that Yusuke's ribs had finished healing while they'd been asleep, even caught in the throes of nightmares. The Spirit Detective was remarkably resilient, much like Hiei and even Youko.

"You've got about a million years to stop doing that, Hiei," Yusuke sighed. Hiei just grunted, irritated. Yusuke wasn't supposed to be talking. Pressing down hard on a particularly vicious knot, he listened as the other male grunted in minor pain, before chocolate eyes turned to glare at him. He ignored the warning and just kept working, pressing and kneading. To make the other boy relax completely, he'd need to do more than just his back, but he thought Yusuke might still be too human to be comfortable with him touching anywhere else. Yusuke was surprisingly open-minded when it came to his people and other youkai, but he was still very much human when it came to himself and what he was comfortable with.

When he had carefully pressed out all the kinks in Yusuke's back, shoulders, and sides, he slipped back under the covers and curled up against the Spirit Detective again, testing. This time, Yusuke didn't protest, except to mumble at him, "Stay outta my head, 'k?" Giving a neutral grunt, Hiei was saved from having to outright lie by the other male falling asleep, his body needing all the energy at its disposal to heal itself.

Hiei remained awake, watching over Yusuke as the boy slept fitfully, his wounds obviously still paining him. Occasionally, Yusuke would twitch or jerk, as if caught in the beginning of a nightmare, but Hiei would carefully stroke his hair or shoulder or hip, and the boy would settle back down again, curling into the smaller youkai as if seeking comfort and protection.

When the door opened and closed almost silently a short while later, Hiei lifted his head long enough to greet Kurama, who was staring at their friend carefully, worry and stress clear in his eyes. The fox took another look at the restlessly dozing Toushin, then turned furious emerald eyes to Hiei. "I thought you could watch him better than that!" his hissed, his youki spiking with his anger. Yusuke moaned low in his throat, curling close to Hiei, who just stared calmly back at the furious fox. Kurama realized what was happening immediately and reigned in his anger, the level of energy dropping rapidly as he calmed himself.

Giving Hiei a dark look that promised the fire demon that the lecture was far from over, Kurama moved to stand next to the bed. When Yusuke's face turned towards him, he smiled affectionately and stretched out his hand, petting his friend's hair lightly. "What happened?" he asked, his voice conversational, but the look in his eyes warned Hiei that the explanation had better be a good one.

"He was having numerous nightmares of his time in that place," Hiei scowled, his eyes brooding as he remembered what, exactly, Yusuke had been reliving. "So I went into his mind to see what was causing him to aggravate his injuries." He ignored Kurama's skeptical look; it was, after all, at least partially true. "Unfortunately, he woke up too abruptly, before I could pull back. The idiot panicked and fell to the floor. As you can see, I got him back on and he's asleep. No serious damage was done." Hiei casually ignored the churning in his stomach at the outright lie. Yusuke had been perfectly aware of what had happened while he was asleep, and his anger and stubborn pride had sent him sliding off the bed, not fear.

Kurama just snorted, shaking his head in disbelief. Hiei agreed with him; it had been an incredibly stupid move. Yusuke could have done a lot more damage than just reopening a few minor wounds. He could have, for example, rebroken his wrist.

"Well, if you think he'll stay asleep long enough, perhaps I can check on his injuries. With his Toushin heritage so close to the surface, he should be healing more rapidly now. If we're lucky, the bandages can come off tomorrow and he can start moving around. Carefully," he amended after a moment of thought. Hiei just grunted, and Kurama grinned at him; they both knew that as soon as Yusuke was feeling a little better, he'd want to throw himself right back into the fray.

The examination went smoothly, Kurama's hands gentle and reassuring as he sorted out bandages and pressed gingerly against healing bones, making sure they were still healing properly. A small flowering plant next to the bed gave off a soothing fragrance that encouraged lethargy in those who were healing, and even Hiei found his eyes drooping under its subtle sway. Still, he managed to remain awake long enough to witness the full exam, and he didn't care much for what he saw.

"Well, fox?" Hiei demanded as Kurama smoothed the covers over a restless Yusuke. Green eyes peered up at him innocently, knowing what he wanted to ask, but determined to make him say it out loud. Hiei snarled loudly, itching to have his katana in his hand to threaten the insolent youkai with. Still, they both knew that even if he pressed it against Kurama's throat and drew blood, his blade would go no further, rendering it nothing but an empty threat, useless against the other male.

Knowing that he wouldn't get a satisfactory answer out of Yusuke, who would either get defensive or fall completely silent in response to Hiei's blunt way of questioning, the fire demon gave in gracefully, his shoulders relaxing and his eyes dropping to stare at Yusuke's face, which had grown calm now that the exam was finished. "Please, Kurama," Hiei asked, his pride surprisingly easy to swallow, "did they violate him? Did they break him in there?" They both knew what he was really asking.

Even as he asked, Hiei couldn't decide what he wanted Kurama's answer to be. He had never been one to back down from the most brutal of truths, but he found himself dreading the fox's answer, terrified that it might be "yes". One word, and Hiei knew he'd lose it. Those youkai that had been unfortunate enough to escape an easy death would die, screaming under his blade, long after they had begged for a mercy that would never come.

So it was with great surprise that Hiei realized that Kurama was shaking his head in the negative. "No, they didn't do that, at least," Kurama murmured, his eyes sad. "But they tried. There is considerable damage from claws, but from the looks of it, Yusuke himself kept it from going any further than that." Hiei's gaze sharpened at that and Kurama sighed. "I believe that, after the first attempt, where they cut him with claws, he used spirit energy to create a sort of barrier. The youkai would have had to break through that first to truly hurt him. None of them were strong enough to break that barrier, so they resorted to cutting him up and beating him in an attempt to make him drop the barrier instead."

The last was said with a fierce pride that Hiei felt echoed in his own chest. They had tried to break Yusuke, tried to take what wasn't theirs, and Yusuke had fought using the only means he had. And he had won. The Spirit Detective was amazing in his ability to adapt his spirit energy, to force it to change and grow as need and desperation demanded.

"Still," Kurama cautioned, his voice more subdued now, "the fact is that they tried. And they succeeded, somewhat, in that first attempt. Yusuke may not understand, or care about, the difference." Hiei frowned, but found himself agreeing reluctantly with the fox's assessment. This was another way that Yusuke was still more human than youkai. Sometimes, almost was as good as done. No doubt the dark-haired male would feel the humiliation of such an artificial violation keenly for a long time to come. Unless, of course, Hiei could get him to understand the difference.

"You two are talkin' about me, aren't you?" The sleepy accusation startled both of them, and they looked down into calm brown eyes that were slowly growing more coherent as their owner woke up. Yusuke groaned, his eyes sliding closed as he stretched carefully. Settling back into the pillow, Yusuke mumbled, "Fine. Don't tell me. Bu in exchange, you have to let me outta bed," he bargained hopefully.

Kurama just gave him a hard look and he subsided immediately, grumbling unintelligibly under his breath. Hiei's respect for the fox went up a notch; it was almost impossible to stop Yusuke from doing something once he decided to do it, and here he hadn't even put up a fight.

Kurama must have had some idea what he was thinking, because he just laughed lightly and said, "Don't think too highly of me, Hiei. I think that Yusuke just isn't feeling up to much movement right now." Narrowed chocolate eyes shifted between the two of them suspiciously, but both youkai gave him innocent stares in return and he sighed, giving in with a final grumble and curling back up under the covers.

As Yusuke's breathing evened out into sleep, Kurama stood. "I'm going out for a while. Watch him, please." The words remained unspoken, but Hiei heard them nonetheless. _Better than you did last time_. He just nodded, refusing to allow the rebuke to raise his hackles. It had, after all, been partially his fault that they had endued up in that mess in the first place. Kurama shot him one more significant look before leaving. Once he was gone, Hiei looked down at Yusuke, amused again.

"You can stop pretending to sleep now, Detective," he said wryly. Yusuke just grinned up at him and shrugged, completely unrepentant. Sitting up with only a wince, he glanced at the bedroom door, then turned to face out the window. Hiei knew he was tracking Kurama's ki closely, wondering where he was going. A different type of spirit energy flashed in next to the fox's, and then they both disappeared a moment later.

Yusuke turned to face Hiei, one brow raised in inquiry. "Why is Kurama going to see Koenma? And why didn't he bother to tell us?" Hiei just shrugged in response, not knowing and not caring, either. Kurama's secrets were his own, and while Hiei had his suspicions, he didn't particularly feel like trying to explain things to the Spirit Detective. If Kurama got the information he wanted, he'd probably share it with the rest of them.

Yusuke just snorted at his companion's stubborn silence and set about getting himself out of the bed. Hiei watched him carefully, but made no moves to stop him. As long as Yusuke didn't do something stupid, Hiei saw no reason to keep him bedridden. Besides, he was tired of babysitting the other boy. If it wasn't for his guilt at having been unable to save Yusuke from torture, he would've left the coddling to the fox and started his hunt for the enemy, regardless of whether or not he had procured the permission of the toushin race.

It took several long seconds, but Yusuke managed to stand up and stay on his feet. Turning his head, he grinned back at Hiei and held up two fingers in what Hiei assumed was a sign for victory. With an abrupt, "Hn," the fire demon zipped out of the bed and over to the window, staring steadily back at the Spirit Detective, who just scowled. There was no way that the younger male could move quickly enough right now to avoid an attack, and they both knew it. But Yusuke's stubborn pride wouldn't allow him to give in now that he had taken that first step.

Slowly, Yusuke tested his body, stretching individual limbs and flexing fingers and toes and muscles, as if relearning his body all over again. Hiei turned to stare out the window, not interested in the Detective's slow progress. Still, he could see the Toushin reflected in the window pane, and he kept an eye on the other boy, making sure he didn't try to move suddenly and fall or something.

A flare of ki made him startle, reaching for his katana, but then he realized that Yusuke was instinctively using his spirit energy to make himself heal faster, blue sparks crawling over his body and disappearing into slowly healing wounds. There seemed to be a concentrated force of spirit energy over his right arm and wrist, which Hiei understood quite clearly. Of all the pains that Yusuke had suffered, the loss of his Spirit Gun was no doubt the hardest to bear. Still, forcing it to heal so quickly would do him no good.

Walking across the room, careful to keep his movements at a pace that Yusuke could easily track, Hiei reached up and touched his right wrist, breaking up the concentration of spirit energy. His eyes narrowed angrily at the interruption, Yusuke opened his mouth to yell, but Hiei interrupted him. "If you force it to heal with your spirit energy at an unnatural speed, you will only cause yourself more damage, Detective," he growled, angry at having to explain such a basic concept to the other male. It wasn't like Yusuke was stupid; he was just too naïve and stubborn to realize what he was doing to himself.

Yusuke blinked, startled as he stared down at Hiei, who met his inquiring gaze calmly and honestly, hiding nothing. "You mean that," Yusuke stated, and he sounded surprised. Hiei scowled back up at the dark-haired male, insulted. He wouldn't lie to the other boy, not about this, at least. Not about something as important as his only true weapon against those youkai that would kill him for his abilities and position as a Spirit Detective working under the godling Koenma.

"Of course I mean that," he snapped back irritably, slowly herding Yusuke back towards the bed. "It needs time to set and heal properly. Without any help, it should heal by itself in another day or two, as long as you keep your Toushin power close to the surface. But forcing it will only make a temporary fix. Your wrist will be weak, and more susceptible to both rebreaking and poor aim." They had reached the bed, and with a not-so-gentle shove, Hiei knocked Yusuke back onto the bed. The other male barely winced this time, holding his arm and wrist above the bed to keep it from being jostled by the undignified sprawl.

Hiei nodded approvingly. "Good. Most of your superficial wounds were already healed, and if you managed not to exhaust yourself, the rest should be healed by morning. Now, sleep, Detective," he ordered. Yusuke started to protest, but Hiei clapped a hand over his mouth, his voice firm. "If you don't sleep, Detective, I will be forced to call Kurama back." The threat was clear, and Yusuke subsided, sulking. He certainly didn't want the redhead to come back and mother hen him to death.

"Tomorrow morning, if Kurama is happy, you can get up and do whatever you want," Hiei promised, effectively taking the decision out of his own hands and putting them in the fox's. If Kurama was going to leave him to babysit, then he could damn well be the one to tell Yusuke that he couldn't get out of bed if the rest of his injuries didn't heal to his satisfaction.

Yusuke glanced at him suspiciously, but curled back up in the middle of the huge bed, burrowing under the covers. Hiei hopped onto the bed and sat next to him – to make sure he actually went to sleep, of course. Slowly, brown eyes closed as the Spirit Detective yawned, and the dark-haired male fell into a fitful sleep. Almost unconsciously, Hiei's hands started petting the Detective's head, hoping, perhaps, to soothe him out of his nightmares.

The two youkai were still in the same position when Kurama returned, his face tense with unwelcome news. Upon seeing the two males, though, his expression softened, and he offered Hiei a small smile and a nod, obviously approving. Hiei just nodded back at him briefly, then the two youkai turned their attention to their healing companion, simply waiting and enjoying the brief moment of calm. The rest of the world could wait.


	6. Chapter 6

When Yusuke finally awoke the next morning, he was warm and pain-free, and two pairs of concerned, amused eyes were staring back at him. Hiei watched in amusement as Yusuke flinched away from Kurama again, and the fox moved back to give him some space, his eyes warning Hiei to not say a word. Obviously, right now, Yusuke trusted Hiei more than Kurama, which was a surprise to all three of them. After all, it _had_ been the fire demon that had intruded while he was having a nightmare.

Once Yusuke had recollected himself and was calmer, the Toushin allowed the redhead to remove his bandages, checking for remaining injuries. Hiei, having witnessed him healing most of them the night before, was mostly interested in seeing that his wrist had healed. When Kurama finally got around to freeing his arm, the Detective pointed it at Hiei and made a shooting motion, though he didn't fire. Flexing his wrist under Kurama's careful scrutiny, he tested his range of motion.

As Yusuke's body had finished healing, his markings had faded back into his skin. Kurama had tried to trim his hair, at least a little bit, and now it fell to just below his shoulders. It was longer than Yusuke liked it to be, but considering the fact that he had tried to strike the fox, several times, Hiei thought the other youkai had done a decent job.

After he was certain that his wrist would hold up to a Spirit Gun shot, he turned to Kurama, serious brown eyes meeting equally somber emerald. "All right, Kurama. Spill it," he demanded abruptly. Hiei smirked at the fox; apparently, even Yusuke had picked up on the other male's tension, even though he had tried to hide it from both of them.

With a sigh, Kurama explained, "The Toushin cannot find the remaining enemies that escaped. It appears that they had outside help, or that there's a way to leave your lands that we don't know of. The first is more likely, because when I was still Youko, I mapped out the territories of all three Lords, for the purpose of knowing escape routes should I ever need them. They should not have been able to escape in the short amount of time they had between the rescue and the mobilization of the Toushin troops."

"Troops? I have troops?" Yusuke asked in disbelief. Kurama and Hiei just blinked at him confusedly, and he frowned. "Well, I know of my aides and my council, and I've met most of the people that live on my lands, but I wasn't aware that I had any soldiers. I mean, I have allies, and they're strong, but I've never seen anything like a military," he admitted, obviously unhappy at having missed something so huge.

Hiei snorted. "You wouldn't have known of the Toushin military, simply because it's not one, at least not in the traditional sense. Your high-level youkai are your military, and because they're scattered throughout your land, once mobilized, they can cover your entire territory in an incredibly short period of time. It's rather efficient, actually," Hiei praised grudgingly. The other two lords, Mukuro and Yomi, were far more controlling of their military's strength and location, but it left them unable to move as quickly or freely as Yusuke's people, a fact which both Hiei and Kurama had pointed out to their respective leaders back when the lands still belonged to Raizen.

Yusuke sat back, temporarily speechless as he processed the information that he actually had soldiers under his command. Hiei watched him through crimson eyes, waiting for him to make a decision. Blinking, Yusuke looked up at his two companions. "If they had outside help, then they are outside the Toushin lands?" he asked frankly.

Kurama gave an elegant shrug, and shook his head. "I cannot say that for certain, Yusuke. It is equally possible that they are still hiding somewhere on your lands. We have not found them yet, and I am nearly certain that we have blocked any possible escape routes, so unless they had outside help that could move them more quickly than our people could move, they could still be hiding among the Toushin people. It is…hard to say, without knowing the facts," he admitted, and his words held a hint of bitterness in them.

Hiei glared at his partner, but it was too late. Sharp brown eyes pinned Kurama into place. "This isn't your fault!" he snapped at the fox, his eyes angry. "I don't know who these bastards are, or who they're working for, but they were able to ambush us all, take two of us captive. So a few escaped and are currently hiding, trying not to get caught. It won't last forever. Sooner or later they're gonna be hunted down and punished. But not finding them is. Not. Your. Fault." Yusuke was growling by this point, eyes narrowed as he watched Kurama stare back at him, wide-eyed.

"Tch!" Hiei muttered, breaking the rising tension between the two males. Two pairs of eyes swiveled to stare at him, and he scowled back. "It doesn't matter right now. The Detective's people are hunting for them. Mukuro's people are hunting for them. I'm presuming that Yomi's scouts are doing the same. They can't hide, unless they come here, which would be stupid, because then we get to take them on." His eyes lit up and he smiled cruelly. "And if they get caught in the human world, they'll wish they had taken their chances in the Makai," he vowed.

Kurama just blinked at him expressionlessly, but Yusuke matched Hiei's grin with one of his own. "Oh, in that case, I hope they did. Has Koenma been looking for them here?" he asked, tilting his head curiously. Kurama confirmed with a nod, and he grinned in satisfaction. "Good," he practically purred, and Hiei could see the dark thoughts running through the Detective's head. If Yusuke got to them first, he'd merrily slaughter them. And then he'd find himself arrested by Koenma's people, unless the toddler had Kurama and Hiei do it, which wouldn't go over well, with either of them.

"Yusuke," Kurama tried to catch the younger male's attention, but when Yusuke turned to face him, he closed his mouth, watching the other man warily. Hiei could sense the Spirit Detective's youki, strong and contained, but ready to explode in violence the moment the enemy was in sight. If their enemies were stupid enough to launch the first attack, he'd finish it in a heartbeat. The problem was in not letting Yusuke make the first move.

He voiced as much to Kurama. "Don't worry, fox. If they come to us, then they're fair game. And they will come to us." He was absolutely certain of that much. There was no way that their enemies would allow them to slip away so easily. They wanted Yusuke broken, and probably both Kurama and Hiei dead. He didn't know who was masterminding the whole thing, but all he needed was to capture one and break into his mind, and he'd know for certain.

Yusuke was watching him contemplatively, while Kurama frowned at them both, but Hiei didn't care. Their enemies would die by his hand, or by Yusuke's, and it would be nothing more than justified.

A sharp knock on the door startled them all, and Kurama peered out the window, then smiled faintly. "Keiko," he explained briefly. Hiei scowled, and Yusuke blinked, startled, then moved to stand next to Kurama and peer out the window. The fox moved as if to leave the room to go greet their unexpected guest, but was stopped when Yusuke's hand reached out and snagged his wrist, jerking him to a standstill.

Green eyes turned to face Yusuke, and Hiei watched the conversation pass between them, all without either of them saying a word. A small part of him hissed at that, twisting inside of him as he watched them connect. Even if the Toushin trusted Hiei more right now, he still didn't have the same sort of easy relationship with the other male that Kurama did.

Kurama nodded and offered Yusuke a small smile, and the teenager released him, watching intently as he left the room. A moment later, Kurama opened the front door, and the soft murmur of voices could be heard upstairs as he spoke to Keiko, turning her away with promises that as soon as Yusuke had finished healing, he'd come to see her. Hiei snorted; the only healing left to do now was in his head. His body showed no lasting signs of the horrifying consequences of their disastrous fight and capture.

Keiko had apparently allowed herself to be persuaded for the moment, because Kurama came back upstairs a few moments later, alone. "Thanks, man," Yusuke offered, and the fox nodded an acknowledgment at him before settling on the foot of the bed, near Hiei. Silence fell over the room, but it wasn't really awkward. Hiei preferred silence. Kurama was a very patient youkai, used to silence. Yusuke was lost in his own thoughts, and so hardly noticed the other two youkai in the room with him.

Hiei watched in mild concern as Yusuke's mind drifted into darker memories, and he found himself wondering what it was that the Spirit Detective was actually seeing, even as he stared out into the bright morning sun. His left hand rubbed idly at his right wrist, and Hiei realized that he was probably feeling a phantom pain. Kurama moved as if to go comfort the other boy, but Hiei touched him briefly on the shoulder, and he stopped, turning to stare at Hiei, who was watching Yusuke.

Briefly, Hiei stretched out his senses and allowed his mind to brush ever so lightly against Yusuke's. He had expected the other boy to flinch and throw him out, so he was surprised when the exact opposite happened, and the Detective's mind opened up to him, pulling him deep inside another memory.

Pain wracked his body, and his wrist throbbed with a constant ache. The metal table felt cool against his skin, and he wondered briefly if he was coming down with a fever. He had closed his eyes in sheer exhaustion, his thoughts numb. It had seemed like an eternity that he had been here, in this place, even though he knew it couldn't have been more than a few days. Five or six, he thought, trying to remember what the youkai in charge of his torture had said, while smugly taunting the Detective that his so-called friends hadn't come for him yet, and probably wouldn't.

Yusuke had snarled at that, his eyes brightening momentarily in anger, but the youkai had just chuckled, watching the doubt as it filled his expression, until Yusuke had slumped back against the table. He hadn't given up faith in his friends in the slightest, but there was no sense in flaunting that before his captor. Kurama would come, and maybe even Kuwabara. He just hoped they came with an army to back them up. He didn't know how many youkai were in this place, but he had heard several voices in the hallway outside his chamber over the past few days, so he knew there had to be at least a dozen, probably more.

Now, though, lack of food and water, and constant pain had worn him down. They gave him enough to keep him alive, no more. They didn't even bother to bandage his wounds, not really caring whether or not he survived. His only consolation was that they wanted him broken before they moved on to Hiei. So as long as he remained strong and didn't allow the cracks to show, they'd leave the smaller youkai alone. Some days, that was the only thing that kept Yusuke sane, and he knew it. Heh. Who would've thought the runt would be his one anchor in this horrible nightmare?

Still, it wasn't easy to remain strong, not any more. Several youkai had taken turns at him, tearing into his flesh just to watch in delight as he writhed in agony. Some of them had brought their own powers to bear. Yusuke had been sliced open, shocked, almost drowned, suffocated, and burned. Occasionally, his youkai powers would help him to heal, but healing faster only brought on more torture, so he was almost relieved when his Toushin heritage finally backed down, his energy too depleted to be spent on healing everything but the worst of his injuries.

One of the youkai had thought it would be fun to fuck the human Spirit Detective. Yusuke had disabused him of that quickly, firing a spirit gun despite his broken wrist, the agonizing pain an acceptable price for the bastard's death. Still, he felt violated, and had the horrible sinking sensation that he'd never quite feel right again. So far, that had done far more damage than the straight out torture he had been subjected to, but he comforted himself with the thought that no other youkai had been able to even come close after that. Whatever defense mechanism that unexpected attack had brought to bear was holding, and they could slice him up, but they couldn't touch him at all from his hips down to his thighs. Pity he couldn't shield all of himself, but he'd take what he could and be grateful for it.

The door to his cell creaked open, and Yusuke waited in silence. He had quickly found that it did him no good to tense up, as it only made his aches more noticeable. Besides, his youkai captors never kept him waiting for long. Sure enough, the ringleader sidled up to him, and Yusuke turned a tired, disinterested gaze towards him.

"And how are we faring today, little human?" the male asked, baring his teeth in a wide smile. Yusuke didn't answer, but then again, the youkai hadn't really expected him to. Slitted yellow eyes gazed down at his wrist, and Yusuke felt himself tense against his will. Cruel satisfaction in his eyes, the youkai reached down and snapped his poorly healed wrist with a quick jerk and twist. Unable to keep completely silent, Yusuke let out a small moan, too tired and hoarse to scream at the renewed agony.

Cold eyes peered down at him, and the Spirit Detective fought the urge to close his own eyes in the hopes that his tormentor would go away. Still, he wasn't expecting what came next. "Seems like you're losing your fire, little human," the youkai mused, his tone more curious than disappointed. "I suppose we'll have to remedy that." Without glancing behind him, the youkai growled out an order, and two burly youkai moved forward, quickly removing the bands around his limbs and carelessly hauling him into a standing position.

The room tilted around Yusuke, both from the sudden vertigo and from the waves of agony riding up and down his body as wrenched bones and wounds sent sharp reminders of their presence. Before the youkai had time to react, Yusuke bent over as far as he could in their grasp, and promptly threw up everything he had been fed in the past twenty-four hours or so. It wasn't much, but it was certainly enough to make a mess.

The youkai would have dropped him in disgust if the ringleader hadn't given them a sharp, "Don't release him!" Tightening their grip, the two grunts lifted Yusuke, slightly more careful now, and half-dragged him out the door. Yusuke wasn't sure where they were going, and found that he didn't really care. Perhaps they had other plans beyond simple torture?

Yusuke vaguely realized that this place was a lot larger than he had first thought, as he was dragged down what seemed like an endless maze of corridors, before the youkai stopped in front of yet another sturdy wooden door, bars across the tiny window and heavy locks on the outside. The ringleader went in first, and Yusuke tried to focus, tried to anticipate what was coming, but his body was so heavy, and he couldn't really bring himself to care.

Still, when they dragged him inside and he heard a low growl, he blinked, forcing his eyes to focus. Had they brought him here to be torn apart by some youkai's pet or something? Were they finished with him. Raising his head, Yusuke stared blankly at the person before him. Slowly, something clicked, and Yusuke realized that his captors had brought him to Hiei.

The smaller youkai didn't appear to be harmed, but Yusuke knew full-well that looks could be deceiving. Hiei's eyes were slightly glazed as well, and Yusuke snarled, fury helping him to block the pain of his broken body as he struggled, fighting against his captors. If he could just break free, just get to Hiei, he'd kill every last youkai in this place, starting with the damn ringleader.

Crimson eyes watched him in disbelief, but the sudden fist that slammed into his broken ribcage caught him by surprise, and Yusuke cried out, tears falling from his eyes unsolicited. A low chuckle as he fell limp, slowly losing consciousness, and then he felt his body sailing through the air a short distance, until he collapsed bonelessly on the floor, instinct making him curl up as much as possible through the pain, trying to prevent further damage to his body.

Yusuke felt Hiei move to crouch over him, and a part of him wanted to sob with relief that he wasn't alone in here, that there was somebody else who could protect him, who could be strong for him for a little while. He wasn't used to being in the position of needing to be saved, but right now, he didn't give a damn. It was only him and Hiei in here together, so the only one whose opinion he cared about was Hiei's, and the other youkai didn't seem inclined to be disappointed in him. Instead, he seemed far more protective than anything, and Yusuke felt himself slowly relax as the ringleader spoke to Hiei.

"Don't worry, Forbidden Child. He's not dead, yet," the youkai chuckled, and Yusuke grit his teeth. Bastard. "But I thought perhaps you'd want to see the one that tried to rescue you…all of you. Pity the other two got away," he lamented, Yusuke would have grinned triumphantly if he had the energy or awareness to do so. Yusuke might have been captured, but Kurama and Kuwabara had managed to escape.

Hiei spoke next, and Yusuke couldn't decide whether to be pleased or horrified as the fire demon gave himself away. "Well? You have us. Now what? We're obviously not going anywhere," he demanded. Yusuke could picture the scowl on his face, his voice clearly unhappy with their situation. _No shit, Sherlock,_ Yusuke thought vaguely. _I'm not exactly happy either, ya know_.

Yusuke could practically hear the glee vibrating in their captor's voice as he gloated. "That's all I needed to know," the youkai practically purred. Yusuke felt Hiei shift and then tense above him, and he forced his eyes to open and stare blearily ahead, trying to focus on the scene outside of their cage. Yusuke saw a small youkai with a crossbow shuffling closer to their small prison, and he heard Hiei hiss, obviously having dealt with this guy before.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. He might miss and hit your friend there instead. With the shape he's in, the drugs just might kill him," the ringleader pointed out gleefully. Hiei snarled furiously, but moved forward, closer to the bars of their cage. Yusuke opened his mouth, wanting to tell Hiei not to worry about him, to just try and escape, that it didn't matter if one of those things hit him instead, but he couldn't force the words out of his raw throat, and he cursed his own weakness as two darts landed squarely in Hiei's right shoulder, the fire demon grunting at the impact, his body swaying. "Good lad," the youkai murmured, the patronizing, gloating voice grating across Yusuke's nerves as he watched Hiei collapse to the floor.

The cage door grated across the floor as the large youkai opened the door, Hiei obviously no longer considered a threat. Large hands reached in and grabbed Yusuke's legs, dragging him towards the front of the cage, and Yusuke felt his body go limp, consciousness fading. No doubt he'd be back on that slab, chained down when he woke up, if he didn't die before then, of course.

"Yus-," the strangled sound came from a barely conscious Hiei, followed by words that Yusuke had never thought to hear in his lifetime. "Please," Hiei managed, the words obviously difficult to manage in his condition. "Don't." The slow slide and scrape of a hand scrabbling across a stone floor. "Leave him. Chain…me."

Yusuke wanted to cry, that Hiei would allow himself to be brought so low as to beg to be chained in exchange for the youkai not taking him away. For him, Hiei was making himself vulnerable, giving up his chance at escape. For a Spirit Detective to whom he owed nothing.

A low murmur, and his legs were released. Hiei was dragged out of the cell, and Yusuke heard the rattle of chains. Realizing only that both he and Hiei were to remain together in the same cell, Yusuke finally allowed unconsciousness to claim him, sliding quickly into nothingness. The last thing he heard was a dull thud as their cell door was shut, imprisoning him and Hiei in darkness once more.

When Hiei was finally able to leave the memories, he found himself curled up on Kurama's large bed, the fox's warm hands rubbing almost frantically up and down his arms. Hiei realized vaguely that he was shivering. A low murmur of voices surrounded him, and Hiei focused on what was happening, the shivers slowly fading as his body warmed up under the heat of what he now realized was another body curled up behind him.

"He'll be fine," Kurama was reassuring the worried Spirit Detective. "Sometimes, when he stretches himself too far, the heat will leave his body. As long as he's kept warm, though, he'll recover just fine. After all, he is part fire demon," the fox smiled, amused. Hiei just grunted, the sound alerting his two roommates that he was back with them.

The body behind him shifted, and Hiei fought the urge to move back into the warm embrace. His body, not yet fully recovered, started to tremble again, and he cursed silently. A brief moment of hesitation, then the human warmth was curled against his back once more, and Hiei found himself relaxing. Yusuke's head raised above his left shoulder, concerned brown eyes staring at him worriedly. "You okay, man?" the dark-haired male asked, obviously not convinced.

Hiei grunted. "I'll be fine, Detective. I wasn't expecting to be pulled in," he admitted reluctantly, not sure if it was a good idea to admit that the other boy had caught him by surprise. Yusuke just flashed him a guilty, apologetic look before ducking his head down, his body curling tightly around Hiei's, surrounding the fire demon with heat and scent.

He couldn't scent any more blood on the Toushin, which pleased him unnecessarily, and he shot Kurama a warning glare. Emerald eyes just stared back at him benignly, completely unfazed by his glowering expression. Hiei gave it up for a lost cause and settled more comfortably, well aware that Yusuke wasn't going to release him unless he forced the issue, which would require more energy than he felt like putting forth at this particular moment in time.

"What did I miss?" he growled a moment later, uncomfortable at having to ask. It seemed that the memories had done him more damage than Yusuke, if the Detective had been able to leave his spot by the window. Most likely, they had been talking while Hiei had been caught in memories that weren't his own. He decided then and there that he wasn't going to pry into the mind of Yusuke Urameshi anymore. The boy would talk when he was ready. Instead, Hiei would settle for making the Detective understand that nothing that had happened in that prison had been his fault.

Another shift as Yusuke shrugged behind him. "Not much. We don't know where those creeps are, and Koenma's pretty much ordered that we stay out of the way for the time being." His tone of voice was obviously unhappy, and Hiei felt himself bristling. No way was the tiny god going to keep him from tracking those bastards down.

"He ordered that we not participate in his investigation," Kurama corrected mildly, and two pairs of eyes peered up at him. Hiei, more used to Kurama's natural sneakiness, caught on quickly and bared his teeth in a feral smile. Shifting, he pulled away from Yusuke, and the boy let him, shifting up and back, away from the other two youkai. Hiei debated pushing the issue immediately, but discarded that idea. Yusuke was fighting between his human and youkai instincts right now, and forcing him to get used to Hiei's touch would do nothing but make him fight harder. There would be time enough for that later.

"So we can't participate in his investigation," Hiei repeated. "But he didn't say anything specific about not doing our own investigation?" The look of complete shock on Yusuke's face as realization dawned was worth having to spell it out for the Detective, Hiei thought smugly.

Brown eyes glanced over at Kurama, who shrugged. "His precise words, I believe, were 'Make sure you tell that idiot Yusuke that neither he, nor you or Hiei, are to take any part in my investigation!' He said more, but it really wasn't that important," he replied mildly. Yusuke just cackled, obviously pleased to see that the fox didn't take Koenma any more seriously than he did most of the time.

"Great. So when do we start?" he asked, brown eyes lit with determination and something far darker, a primal instinct that demanded vengeance. Hiei glanced at him covertly for a moment, then decided that it wasn't worth digging in to right now. If Yusuke wanted revenge, he'd make sure he got more than he could handle. Yusuke was their leader, after all.

Kurama just smiled, showing teeth, and replied, "I think I've got a lead." Hiei felt his own lips curling into a vicious snarl. Finally, some good news! Those youkai wouldn't know what hit them until it was far too late to beg for mercy. Just the way he wanted it.

Settling in for the conversation, Hiei watched as Yusuke absorbed himself in plans and strategy and the hunt, feeling an odd stirring in his blood that sang and hissed, demanding something that he dare not name. Not yet, at least. Revenge first. He'd figure out the rest after he had bathed in the blood of his – and Yusuke's – enemies.


	7. Chapter 7

"Why, exactly, are we doing this again?" Yusuke grumbled, splashing through yet another puddle as he jogged down the alleyway, dodging dumpsters and bodies as he moved. Hiei ignored him, flitting along the rooftops as silently as a shadow, all three eyes open as he scouted the way, as unhappy as Yusuke at being wet and cold and running around aimlessly like a couple of morons.

The rain had started twenty minutes ago, and while it wasn't heavy, it was constant, and it hadn't taken long for the two males to be soaked through. If the enemy showed up now, Hiei would be grateful to have somebody to take his discomfort out on. If they didn't, he'd take it out on the fox instead. After all, this had been his idea. Then again, it was also the Detective's fault for agreeing to such a stupid plan.

Kurama had admitted that while he had his suspicions, based around an area where several humans, mostly criminals, had disappeared without a trace, he had been unable to pinpoint their location. Wherever the youkai were hiding, they were able to conceal their reiatsu from the fox. Which would be commendable, if Hiei thought that they were doing it on their own. Somebody was hiding them; somebody who was stronger than the lot of them put together. They were nothing but grunts, but they had done their job. And now it was up to Urameshi's team to take them out.

Hiei had no illusions; Koenma was leaving this up to them. His people were probably wandering around in the complete opposite direction of their targets. Perhaps Koenma knew better than to get in Hiei's and Yusuke's way. Or maybe he thought that it would do Urameshi some good to 'face his fears' or some other nonsense. The fire youkai didn't care, as long as the infant stayed out of their way.

A growl from below made Hiei pause and glance down, raising an eyebrow at the Spirit Detective. Yusuke's hair was plastered to his head, his clothes were soaked through, and he was shivering. His eyes snapped with irritation, and Hiei decided that he had done enough for today. They both had. Dropping easily to the ground, Hiei stood in front of the Detective and spoke, his voice cold and annoyed. "I, for one, refuse to stay out in this weather any further. I'm going back."

Not bothering to wait for a response, Hiei turned and flitted away, subconsciously keeping track of Yusuke's spirit energy. A brief flash of youki, and Yusuke was chasing after him, just far enough behind to make it interesting. Putting on another burst of speed, Hiei gave himself over to the chase, enjoying the thrill that came with running all out, with the mindless dash that meant nothing except living and flying and breathing and saving yourself.

So slowly it was hardly noticeable, Yusuke's spirit energy drew closer to his, the predator hidden inside the other boy giving him a boost in power and speed. There was a dangerous aura surrounding Urameshi now, as he gave himself over to the youkai instincts, the sense of impending capture sending a thrill down Hiei's back. Next to the bloodlust that overcame him in battle, the run-and-chase was his greatest pleasure, where nothing mattered but speed. Could the prey elude the predator before it was devoured? Or was it doomed to feed the more powerful beast on the food chain?

Yusuke had never truly realized his own strength, and subconsciously held his power in check. But there were times, like when he had thought that Kuwabara was dead, killed at the hands of Toguro, that he released that hold and the power spilled over, showing a strength that was so rarely seen. He hadn't let go by any means, but Hiei still felt that thrill of danger.

Making a sudden turn, Hiei darted in the opposite direction, forcing Yusuke to turn with him. They were heading away from Kurama's place now, but Hiei didn't mind, and it seemed that Yusuke didn't either. The Toushin brought himself to the roof that Hiei had just left, and the chase was back on, the two youkai flying across the roofs of office buildings, the flat ground slippery but less dangerous than the peaked roofs of the houses in Kurama's neighborhood.

Hiei gave himself over to the run once again, land and people blurring past him as he fled. If he hadn't been tracking the Spirit Detective's energy, he would've missed the low level youki that buzzed close to the ground. Distracted, Hiei skidded to a halt, his feet scrabbling for purchase on the slick roof. Yusuke, too close behind him, wasn't as lucky and skidded past him, dropping to the ground to keep from sliding past the edge of the roof, his feet coming to rest inches from the edge. Not that falling off the roof would've killed him with his youkai heritage activated, but it would've startled the handful of humans on the ground, hurrying to find shelter from the rain.

Yusuke took one look at Hiei's focused look, and wisely kept his mouth shut, his power sinking back into his skin effortlessly, unless only that low-level hum that always surrounded him could be felt. Ignoring the embarrassed Toushin, Hiei moved forward carefully, crimson eyes scanning the ground below. Yusuke moved up beside him, cautious now, and spotted them first.

"There," he whispered, his voice low as he pointed. Hiei followed the direction he was pointing and growled under his breath. It was the short youkai that had drugged him with those damned darts. A taller youkai stood next to him, appearing for the most part as a large, tall human. Both Detectives knew better, though. "I wonder why it's only two of them?" Yusuke murmured. Hiei just glared up at him, before turning his attention back to the two youkai, ignoring the Spirit Detective as he muttered hopefully under his breath. "Maybe we can make them tell us where the rest are. They're both really weak."

Hiei realized that Urameshi meant to act on his words and snapped an arm out, gripping Yusuke's wrist tightly. "Fool!" he spat, suddenly angry. "Think about it! Why would a group in hiding leave two of their weakest youkai outside and unprotected. The one isn't even _pretending_ to be human!"

Yusuke was intelligent enough to catch on quickly, but he frowned back at Hiei, obviously disagreeing with the fire demon. "Yeah, but if we don't do something now, who knows where they'll be next time. We can't miss this chance, Hiei!"

Hiei snapped back at him, "We can and we will, Detective! I will not risk you getting captured again, not by them!" He regretted the words almost instantly, watching Yusuke's eyes darken, growing haunted. A flicker of anger sparked in them, and Hiei hoped he hadn't just messed things up. He hadn't meant to imply that Yusuke was weak, only to show that they couldn't afford risking themselves, knowing that they would most likely be walking into a trap.

Yusuke swallowed, his focus returning as he stared at Hiei, then his shoulders relaxed, and Hiei breathed a little easier. It looked like the Detective might've come to the same conclusion himself. "All right," he allowed. "If they're waiting for us, they'll probably still be here later. We'll go back and tell Kurama. At the very least, maybe – " his words were cut off by a scream from below, and the two males turned to stare wide-eyed at the youkai below them. The taller one was holding tightly to a human female, and smiling, his teeth bared. His words, when he spoke, weren't for the woman.

"I know you're there, Urameshi," he called out. "Although it's a pity your little pet isn't with you," he smiled. Hiei suppressed a growl at the slur; he was no one's pet! "Your little escapade all over town was a little hard to miss. I'm sure you realize that this is a trap, but now you have a choice. Come down and trade for the girl, or watch as I tear her apart, limb by limb." He gripped one of the woman's wrists and squeezed, making her cry out as bones moved together.

"That's enough!" Yusuke called back, staying down. "I'll come down and trade. Just hang on a sec, would ya?" Quickly turning to Hiei, he hissed, "They don't know you're here. Get Kurama!" Hiei's eyes narrowed in anger, and he silently drew his sword, the threat clear. He cared nothing for the human female, but he would not allow the Spirit Detective to fall into these youkai's hands again.

Yusuke saw the threat and acknowledged it with an apology. "I'm sorry, Hiei. But you know I can't ignore them. She's in trouble because of me. I have to go. Please, make sure she's safe, and get Kurama." Without waiting for an answer, Yusuke stood and leapt lightly off the roof, landing easily on the ground and walking towards the two youkai. Hiei watched him go, aware that the small youkai was preparing another dart and taking aim. His body thrummed with useless energy, and he cursed at himself, and at the youkai. If they had noticed Yusuke, why didn't they realize that there might be more than one of them there?

The answer to his own question came far too late as Yusuke went down under the tranquilizing dart, his body sprawling limply on the pavement. No longer interested in the human woman, the large youkai released her, and she ran off like a terrified rabbit. A low chuckle, and the youkai looked up, right at Hiei's hiding spot. "Well?" he asked smugly. "You didn't think I'd actually missed you, did you? You're too powerful for that." Hiei growled, not moving. "Oh? You don't want to show yourself. That's fine, then," the youkai smiled. "We'll just tear off an arm or something. It _probably_ won't be enough to kill him, but it might make you a little more amenable to persuasion."

Long claws sprouted from the youkai's fingers as he gave up his human guise, his arm raised above his head, ready to tear into unprotected flesh. No longer having any choice, Hiei removed the seal over his Jagan and leapt, his sword coming up and removing the enemy's hand, slicing easily through his wrist. The youkai howled, and Hiei felt a dart skim his hip as he whirled around, his sword easily decapitating the small youkai.

Grabbing Yusuke, Hiei darted away, but didn't make it far before slamming into a barrier, gritting his teeth as power sizzled across his body, sending sharp jolts of electricity through him. Temporarily stunned, Hiei nonetheless managed to shield Yusuke's limp body with his own. "Dammit, Detective," he growled, desperate and angry. "So help me, if we make it out of this alive, I'm going to chain you to the damn bed and not let you go until they're all dead!"

Youki flooded the near proximity, and Hiei scowled; it seemed that the others had been hidden inside the barrier, so close and at the same time, completely undetectable. At least Hiei had been right about one thing; whoever had helped them had more power than all of these underlings combined. Large hands reached for Yusuke, and Hiei snapped his teeth closed, fangs piercing deeply into the meat of the hand, bitter blood flowing into his mouth and down his chin.

His Jagan glowed a brilliant violet, and Hiei sent out a cry for help. If Kurama was tracking them like he was supposed to be, he would know where they'd lost touch, and now he'd know for sure that they were in trouble. The fire demon's Jagan wasn't just for show, and a barrier like this was nothing. A sudden blow to the head stunned Hiei, and he released the youkai's hand, trying not to choke as he turned his head. Another clawed hand reached down, but this time, the youkai died, a sizzle of spirit energy temporarily blinding the fire demon.

Warm brown eyes gazed into his own crimson ones, and Yusuke grinned cockily. "Well? What d'ya say we finish this up before backup arrives?" Hiei concurred, glad to see that Yusuke's health was sufficiently returned that the sedative hadn't kept him down for long, and the two males broke apart, standing to face their enemies.

A moment of hesitation in the youkai before them, and then all hell broke loose. Yusuke released a barrage of his spirit shot-gun, and Hiei darted along the outside of the Detective's path, taking out the youkai who had managed to dodge the first attack. Dark laughter sounded behind him, and Hiei felt his own lips curl back into a cruel smile, glad despite his initial reservations that they were now on the offensive, attacking the enemy that had humiliated them both.

As bodies fell under his blade, Hiei kept his Jagan open, scanning constantly, but it appeared that whoever had made the barrier hadn't bothered to stick around. Still, there was something terribly familiar about it, but Hiei couldn't place it until Yusuke howled, the sound filled with rage. Hiei shivered, watching as the weaker youkai cowered. Even the handful of S-class youkai among the group hesitated, staring at the Mazoku leader. Bloodlust and a killing intent surrounded the Spirit Detective, flaring just as two S-class youkai fell to the ground, dead, blue sparks of power crawling across the corpses.

The youkai finally decided they'd had enough and turned to flee, but there was nowhere for them to run. Just as the barrier kept Yusuke and Hiei trapped, so it did their enemies. Cries of terror rose up among the crowd, and Hiei watched as Yusuke continued to attack, heedless of the fact that youkai were attempting to retreat, relentless in his assault. Power continued to pour from him, a seemingly never ending cycle, and Hiei sheathed his sword, torn between allowing Yusuke to kill them all and stopping the Detective before he ended up doing something he'd regret later.

The crack of a rose whip against the barrier made up his mind for him, and as Kurama called upon plants that would grow and crack through the powerful obstruction, Hiei moved forward, dodging Yusuke's random blasts of power, the Toushin non-discriminating in his attacks. "Dammit, Detective," he growled as spirit energy clipped his right shoulder, sending him skidding back several feet, "what the hell is wrong with you?"

Brightly glowing gold eyes turned his way, and Hiei saw a deep sorrow, hidden under a thin layer of rage. It seemed that Yusuke recognized him, at least as somebody who wasn't an enemy, because he answered, "One of mine. Their leader is one of mine." The words were barely whispered, so low that Hiei wasn't sure he'd heard them.

When they finally sunk in, Hiei snarled, realizing that Yusuke, who felt things far more deeply than either Kurama or Hiei, was feeling the first bitter sting of betrayal. His heart had been broken by the treachery of one of his own people, one of those that he protected with everything he had. Hiei and Kurama had both known that some of the Toushin race weren't happy to have a human-youkai hybrid for their king, but he hadn't thought that any of them would have enough guts to actually challenge the Spirit Detective like this. That had been a foolish assumption on his part, and Hiei cursed both his own and Kurama's idiocy in not having foreseen that their capture might have been caused by something as simple and unexpected as treachery from the inside.

"It's all right, Detective," Hiei tried to reassure Yusuke, with the sinking feeling that he was failing miserably. "We'll find him. Then he'll die." It was as simple as that; a traitor who would betray on his own king could not be allowed to live, lest he cause a civil war the like of which hadn't happened since Raizen, Yomi, and Mukuro had divided the land amongst themselves, claiming the local residents for their own.

Slowly, Yusuke calmed down, his breathing evening out as his heart rate settled into a more normal rhythm. The trapped youkai watched them all warily, waiting to see what Yusuke would do. Hiei was sorely tempted to just let the Detective have at them again, but it would be counterproductive by this point. Brown eyes stared tiredly at him, and Yusuke sighed. "Will he be so easy to find, Hiei?"

That, at least, was a question Hiei felt confident in answering, and he nodded. "Hn," he murmured. "Now that we know what we're looking for, finding him won't be a problem," he assured the taller male. The Toushin, once they were informed, would hand the traitor over themselves, because even if they didn't like Yusuke, they would like the idea of a civil war even less. A people divided made for easy prey, and the Toushin would have no desire to be forced into submission by Yomi and Mukuro. They would take their chances with the Spirit Detective, who was more or less content to let them continue on as they always had, only stepping in when he was needed.

A loud crack made them both jump, and they watched as the barrier toppled, slowly fading away as the magic that had held it together was destroyed and devoured by Kurama's plants. As soon as the barrier was down, the remaining youkai fled, leaving their companions behind. Cool green eyes surveyed the downed youkai, and Kurama smiled grimly. "Good job, Yusuke," he murmured in approval. "Let's leave the clean-up for Koenma's people, shall we?" With that, he turned and walked away.

Brown eyes met red in a brief moment of commiseration, then Yusuke shrugged, throwing a quick grin Hiei's way. "You heard him. Koenma did tell us to stay outta the way, didn't he?" He cackled at his own wit as he followed behind the red head, leaving Hiei frowning at his back. The sound that had come from Yusuke was far more brittle than it should have been if he was as carefree as usual. No doubt the betrayal had done far more damage to Yusuke than he was willing to let on. Add that to the actual torture he had suffered, and the Mazoku was probably in a world of hurt right now.

Hiei shook his head. He didn't have the time, or the desire, to baby the Detective through his emotional tangles. The boy would just have to figure it out on his own. Once Urameshi made his decision, Hiei would back him, whatever he chose, but ultimately, it was up to the young man where he went from here. Hiei just hoped that he didn't slide too far down the cliff before finding a handhold to climb back up with. Otherwise, it wouldn't just be the Spirit Detective hurting.

A loud crack of thunder shook him out of his musings, and Hiei scowled fiercely as the skies opened up and poured down on them – again. He heard laughter, and realized belatedly that Kurama and Yusuke had already sought shelter in the remains of an abandoned apartment complex. Snorting, Hiei darted forward, following his companions. For now, get dry. Then figure out the next step. Easy enough, right? Riiiiight.


	8. Chapter 8

Hiei found himself watching the Detective again, his eyes drawn to the stubborn set of his shoulders as he spoke fiercely with Kurama in a heated discussion, debating their next move. Yusuke was all for just going in there and demanding to know what the hell was going on. While the direct approach had its merits, and would probably be much faster, Kurama was far more cautious, and warned that the youkai responsible might just go into hiding. As things stood currently, it was unlikely that the traitor realized that Yusuke knew he was one of his own people. The fox thought it would be more prudent to do something like a tour of his lands, which he did every year anyhow, and just move the schedule up by a few months. Since the Spirit Detective had felt the youkai's spirit energy, he would be able to find him again if he was looking.

Both sides had merit, and while Hiei was more the blunt, attack-from-the-front sort of guy himself, he knew that Youko Kurama hadn't gotten to be as old as he was by being reckless. The fox's plan was probably their best bet. And really, if Kurama's tactic didn't work, then they could always go back to Yusuke's nonexistent strategy.

Two pairs of eyes were suddenly staring at him, and Hiei scowled, trying not to flush as he realized that he had spoken that last bit out loud. He stared steadily back at Yusuke, ignoring the fox's knowing smile and feigning innocence. Of course, he had never been much good at pretending, and after a few seconds, Yusuke broke into a wide smile and shouted with laughter, slapping his knee for emphasis and quite obviously amused. Hiei debated, once more, the merits of just cutting off the Detective's head now and saving them all a bit of grief. Instead, he just gave the boy a final withering glare before darting out the window, quickly leaving Kurama's home, and Yusuke, behind.

Hiei let his feet carry him as he moved towards the nearby park. There was a tall tree there with high branches that the fire youkai felt safe resting in. The lower branches had long since been broken off or cut down, so that no branches could be seen until about halfway up the tree. Hiei could flit from the top of the tree across from it into the lower branches and scurry up the tree, positioning himself at fork in the tree, where the tree itself split into two smaller sections.

Curling up and burrowing down, his cloak spread underneath him for cushioning, Hiei settled in, glad that it promised to be a warm night. More importantly, it wasn't supposed to rain for another two days. If there was one thing Hiei hated more than anything, it was rain. Snow ranked high on his list, too, but in consideration of his younger sister, he tried not to be so obvious about his distaste for the fluffy white stuff that fell instead of rain during the winter months.

Closing his eyes, Hiei allowed himself to doze, a subconscious part of him always scanning for danger, watching for the enemy. With his curse as the Forbidden Child, the small youkai had never been able to truly relax and just let himself go completely, had never been allowed the luxury of trusting that he'd be safe if he did so. The closest he ever came to that feeling was when he was with Kurama, or even Yusuke.

The realization that he trusted the Mazoku almost as much as he trusted Kurama caught him unawares, and in his sudden alertness, Hiei heard it - the light whistling of something thin and slender shooting through the air. Rolling quickly, Hiei listened to the dart as it sank deep into the branch he had been laying on moments before. Looked like the enemy hadn't given up yet.

Still, nothing more happened, and the only youki Hiei detected was fleeing further away. He debated chasing after it, but decided reluctantly that he probably ought to let Kurama know about it, at least. Hopping lightly back onto the branch, Hiei stared curiously at the dart. It was longer than the ones that had been used to sedate him, more like an arrow than a dart, and the note wrapped around it only reinforced his decision. Obviously, whoever had shot at him was trying to send a message.

His Jagan open while he scanned the surrounding area for further danger, Hiei reached out and snagged the note, leaving the dart where it was, embedded in the tree branch. Opening the note, he quickly scanned its content, then grinned viciously, crimson eyes nearly glowing in anticipation. It looks like not everybody had agreed with their abandonment earlier, when they had ambushed himself and Yusuke.

"Tell me that's good news, Hiei," Yusuke called up. Hiei flitted lightly to the ground to stand in front of the three Detectives. It seemed that Kurama had deigned to call Kuwabara for this trip, despite the late hours. Hiei wondered briefly how well Kuwabara's older sister was going to take that. The oaf was probably in for a beating when he returned, he thought with a smirk. Kuwabara just glared at him, but managed to keep his mouth shut, which was a small miracle.

Silently, Hiei handed the letter to Kurama, who opened it and skimmed through, then read it again more slowly. Yusuke peered over his shoulder, and Kuwabara towered over them all, just waiting until they were done and made a decision. If there was one thing the tall human was good at, it was following somebody else's lead. Even if he and Hiei didn't get along, Kuwabara had always been a steady back-up for all of them, and it had come in handy. On occasion. Not that Hiei would ever say as much to the moron.

Kurama glanced up at the sky, where the sun would be rising in another two hours or so. "Well, we have a choice. We can either trust that this is accurate and move now, before they're gone again. We can hand it over to Koenma and let his people take it from there. Or we can wait a little while and try to confirm this ourselves. Suggestions?" It wasn't really a question, though, and they all knew it.

Three pairs of eyes swiveled to stare at Yusuke, who was staring at the ground, dark thoughts running through his expression. No doubt Kuwabara and Kurama would've waited forever for the Detective to make up his mind, but Hiei just wasn't that patient, unless he had to be. "Well, Detective?" he growled. "What do you want to do?"

Brown eyes blinked and turned to stare at him, and Yusuke shifted unconsciously closer to the fire youkai, even as he answered, "I want to finish this. For good." He had that stubborn set to his shoulders, his mouth set in a grim line, and Hiei grunted in approval, his eyes turning to Kurama, who just shrugged. Still, emerald eyes flashed with a hint of gold, the fox not totally against charging in recklessly.

"Kuwabara!" Yusuke snapped, and the taller boy jumped to attention, instinctively obeying the alpha tone. The Spirit Detective was a born leader, charismatic and powerful, and it showed. "Go to Genkai's place. You should find Botan there, or Yukina, at least. Let them know what's going on, would you?"

Glancing up at the dark sky, Kuwabara asked, "So…it's still kinda early, ain't it? You sure I should go right now?" Yusuke just blinked, then threw his back with a shout of laughter. Hiei stared at him like he'd gone insane, then saw the other two. Kurama's eyes were twinkling in amusement, and Kuwabara's grin was one of relief. Hiei realized suddenly that this was the first time he had heard Yusuke laugh in a way that wasn't filled with darkly grim humor since their rescue.

"Nah. Take your time. You know the old lady gets grouchy if she doesn't get enough sleep," Yusuke grinned, his eyes alight with knowing laughter. So he wasn't completely oblivious to the attempts of his friends. Turning to Kurama, he asked, "So…how quickly can you open a gate, Kurama?"

The fox shrugged. "It takes a while, if I have to start from scratch. But I seem to recall there being a weak link nearby that might have been…weakened further by some nearby youki-devouring plants over the past couple of days." Nobody fell for his innocent look, and Yusuke pumped his fist in the air.

"Well, then, what're we waiting for? An invitation?" he demanded. Hiei was tempted to point out that they had just received exactly that, but he held his tongue. "Let's go. Later, Kuwabara!" he called, waving as he followed Kurama out of the park. Kuwabara gave a casual wave in return as he sauntered away, probably heading for the temple, though he'd take his time. No need to alert Koenma too early of their suddenly urgent plans, after all.

"This could very well be a trap," Kurama felt the need to caution as they approached the weakened barrier. Hiei ignored the fox, but Yusuke nodded, his expression serious.

"I know, Kurama," he replied grimly, "but it's the only lead we've got, and it beats sitting around doing nothing. Besides, I'm already tired of always watching my back whenever I leave the house. One of these times, some stupid punk is gonna jump at me, and I'm going to kill him." Hiei realized that he hadn't considered that before, though it made sense now that it had been brought to his attention. If the Spirit Detective felt threatened, he wouldn't be paying real close attention to whether or not it was a youkai that had attacked him.

Hiei just grunted. "You're always getting in trouble, Detective. How is this any different?" Yusuke gave him a dark look, then blinked, apparently taking Hiei's question seriously. He frowned lightly as he came to same conclusion as Hiei; the only difference this time from any other was that his luck had run out. He had faced seemingly insurmountable odds dozens of times in the past, starting when he first became a Spirit Detective and was sent to chase after the Artifacts. But this time, he had been taken down, and he had been held. There was no glorious escape, no fighting their own way out, cutting down their enemies. There had been nothing but a sudden rescue from the outside that left them both reeling and unconscious in the aftermath.

Yusuke shrugged, watching as Kurama reduced his plants back to seeds and hid them on his person. "I dunno. Maybe it's just 'cause…of _that_," he mumbled, unwilling to give it a name. "It's not like the beatings were anything new, though the broken wrist kinda sucked." Hiei held back a grin at that; from the sounds of it, this wasn't the first broken bone Yusuke had ever gotten, and it probably wouldn't be the last. He lived his life aggressively, and hid an endearingly sensitive side under that belligerent attitude of his.

Kurama finished opening the portal, studiously ignoring them, which was just as well. If he had been paying attention, Hiei would have never gotten a chance to speak. "Detective, you do realize that until you've actually been fucked by somebody, you're not going to know the difference, right? What they did to you was _nothing_," he growled.

In front of him, Kurama froze, then turned to stare at him disbelievingly. Slowly, the shock morphed into anger, and green eyes grew dark. Then, even more frightening, they went cold, completely and totally aloof and uncaring. Hiei knew he'd pay for his impulsive comment later, but for now, he couldn't care less. Somebody had to say it, and it might as well be him. After all, he _knew_. He knew what the difference was.

Kurama didn't quite understand, because he had never been taken by force, and he would never willingly allow somebody that sort of power over him. He had always been the alpha, able to woo anybody he pleased into his bed with his charm and sensual nature. But Hiei, he hadn't always been as strong and fast and deadly as he was now. He had learned to fight and to kill, to protect himself against those who were bigger and stronger than he was. And he had finally earned the right to choose his own partners, and to dominate them, if he chose.

"You offering?" came the snide remark, and Hiei felt his lips pull back into a snarl, a sharp retort on the tip of his tongue, until he caught sight of Yusuke's expression. The boy was actually sincere in the question, if not the tone, which brought Hiei up short. He studied Yusuke for several long moments, until the younger male was all but squirming, his cheeks flushed lightly.

Coming to a decision, and aware that Kurama was waiting to hear his response, still glaring at him, Hiei nodded. "If you want," he agreed.

Before Yusuke could reply, the portal was open and Hiei was being yanked through it unceremoniously by a pissed off kitsune. "What the hell are you thinking?" he hissed, his eyes already bleeding gold in preparation of their imminent arrival into the Makai. "Are you insane?"

Hiei just blinked back at him calmly, ignoring the insult – they both knew he was perfectly sane – and replied, "Let him think about it, fox. If he says no, then that's that. But you know if he agrees, I won't hurt him. You wouldn't let me. And I…wouldn't allow myself to, either," he admitted, his voice almost hesitant as he spoke the words that would reveal more than he cared to admit. But if the fox was to trust him, he had to be honest, at least this much.

Youko Kurama, now in full youkai glory, stopped short and just stared at him. Hiei managed not to squirm, though it was a close call, that gaze was so intense as it gauged his sincerity. Finally, Kurama nodded in triumph, as if he had just solved a difficult puzzle. "All right. But no pressuring him," he warned, a slightly amused glint in his eyes, even as his tone was utterly serious. Hiei nodded in consent, and didn't look back as Yusuke followed them into the portal, silent and not looking at either of them. If the Toushin didn't want to deal with it right now, he didn't have to. And perhaps it was better that he didn't. After all, they were about to go take on the enemy, and those thoughts would be nothing more than a distraction. It would be best if he left that confusion and uncertainty in the human world, to be dealt with later.

"If you two are done talking about me, can we go now?" Yusuke growled as he came through the portal, his voice betraying nothing more than irritation. Quickly, Hiei took a risk and met Yusuke's eyes. There was something dark swirling in them, but there was no fear or hesitation. Rather, Hiei saw anticipation, the looming fight and shot at retaliation an exhilarating thrill for the Toushin lord. "Well?" he demanded, flashing a quick grin. "I'll figure everything else out later. For now, we've got a bad guy to take out. So let's go, before he catches on and gets away again!" he insisted.

Kurama and Hiei shared a brief look of fond exasperation, and then they were off, running down the path that would lead them to the Makai. And to their next fight.


	9. Chapter 9

It didn't take them long to find their enemy, and the pile of bodies strewn around him. Yusuke made a choking sound as his eyes took in the dead and dying youkai, their blood staining the grass a deep crimson. Power lashed around him as he released it all at once, his teeth bared in a snarl as he lifted his head and glared furiously at the smug youkai standing before them. On his right, Youko Kurama moved into a defensive crouch, careful not to place himself in front of the pissed Mazoku. Hiei did the same on his left, his Jagan already open and scanning the area. It hadn't been the toushin that had done this, he thought idly, his crimson eyes watching their opponent intently while he listened and felt for hidden barriers or enemies.

"Is there a point to this, Uragiri?" Yusuke asked, his voice tightly controlled, though his fury was obvious. His pain, though, was well-hidden, Hiei thought approvingly, observing the Detective. His markings were in full view, and his hair cascaded down his back, stirred by the warm breeze that surrounded him. He was holding his power in check, but only barely, and even then, it was probably only because he hoped that some of the citizens could still be saved, and knew that letting his power spill everywhere might just kill them, as weak as they were. Hiei doubted that any of the youkai would survive, but if it kept Yusuke from doing something stupid, then the other's males hope wasn't without merit.

"Uragiri?" Youko asked, his ears lifting as his curiosity was stirred. "As in uragirimono?" Yusuke nodded sharply, not really paying attention to the fox, and Youko smiled ruefully. "What an unfortunate name," he commented lightly. Hiei just snorted, his attention still on the surrounding area. Their enemy was in front of them, and there was no way that the fire demon was going to let anybody else interrupt. Nor would he allow himself to be caught off guard a second time. Youko caught his eyes, and in that brief glance, Hiei saw a resolve that matched his own. Their only duty now was to guard the Toushin leader's back while he dealt with the traitor.

A brush of air, and suddenly Yusuke was in front of the surprised toushin, a hand wrapped around his throat as he slammed the other youkai to the ground. A terrible cracking sound indicated that at least one bone in the toushin's arm was now broken, and their opponent grimaced, but didn't cry out. Hiei had to admit that if nothing else, the traitor had guts.

Uragiri greeted his leader with a mouth full of teeth, and Yusuke snarled back, his fingers tightening as his claws dug into unprotected flesh, cutting off the other youkai's air. Still the other youkai smiled, and Hiei frowned. But Youko was quicker. He cried out to their leader. "Yusuke! Run!" The fox was already bolting towards the two youkai, and Hiei dashed forward as well, moving far quicker than his companion. Still, there was no time.

Yusuke was already pulling back, moving on instinct at Youko's warning cry, and Hiei had a split second to see the expression on his face, despair and fear and a strange acceptance, and then they were gone, as if they had never been there to begin with. Hiei's Jagan scanned the area frantically, but whatever portal the youkai had used was nothing that he could locate, and it wasn't a barrier that was hiding them. Yusuke was gone. And this time, there was nobody with him.

A split second later, there was movement all around them, but Hiei ignored Koenma's people as they started sifting through the bodies, trying to save the few that were still alive. Uragiri had been thorough, if nothing else. The death of his people had blinded Yusuke to the dangers of getting so close to their enemy. And Hiei's confidence in his abilities to protect Yusuke had failed them both. Again.

Movement flashed next to him, and Hiei whirled into a defensive crouch, ready to attack the moron that had moved so close. Golden eyes stared back at him calmly, and Hiei straightened up. Youko turned to look to their right, and Hiei watched as Koenma, in his teenage form, walked through his ogres towards them. "What happened?" he demanded, as soon as he was within earshot.

Hiei walked away, leaving Youko to explain things to the irate godling. He stopped at the spot where Yusuke had disappeared, but it didn't change anything. Other than some faint traces of the Detective's youki, and an impression in the dirt where Uragiri had been taken down, there was nothing there. No sign of where they had been, or where they had gone. Closing his eyes, Hiei opened his Jagan completely, his skin tinting green as power flowed over him, extra eyes opening and scanning out across the countryside. If Yusuke was in the Makai, he'd find him.

Nobody approached him as he stood there, unaware of the passing time, his mind chasing shadows and wisps of youki all over the demon world. He grew weary, and eventually had to settle on the ground, but still he persisted, his mind tracking outwards as far as he could reach, and then further, pushing the limits of his own abilities.

He was vaguely aware of voices all around him, trying to coax him to give up, or at least to take a rest. But after the first ogre lost his hand, everybody stayed out of range. Everybody except Youko Kurama, and the fox was content to stand at his side, growling at anybody who dared to risk loss of life and limb. Hiei wondered only once why he didn't use plants to guard them from the others, but then realized that the youki would interfere with his search. He was grateful for the fox's support.

Eventually, Koenma took his people and left after a hurried conversation with Youko that Hiei ignored. He was hot, and exhausted, and his mind was straining. He wouldn't be able to keep up the search for much longer, but he refused to let Koenma see him give up. Only after the godling was gone, and all his people with him, carting off the dead and wounded, did Hiei allow his body to slump backwards, supported by Kurama's hands on his shoulders. He was so tired, but the guilt and anger ate away at him, and he knew he wouldn't be able to rest, not properly.

"He'll be okay, Hiei," Youko promised. Hiei glared up at him tiredly, startled at the open honesty he saw in those golden eyes. The fox actually believed what he was saying, and that, in part, gave Hiei the strength he needed to hold on for just a little longer. Gentle hands bound his Jagan, sealing it once more, and Hiei sighed lightly. He held up one hand and allowed Youko to pull him up, and they stumbled together to the nearest portal, slipping through it with only minor difficulty.

Hiei allowed Kurama, now back to his human form, to take them back to his house, where he promptly settled on the floor in the center of the living room and opened his Jagan once more. Kurama made a soft, displeased hum, but the fire demon ignored him, and after a moment, he felt Kurama's presence withdraw, the fox as silent on his feet as ever.

Hiei didn't know how long he stayed there, his mind brushing across thousands upon thousands of human minds, seeking a single unique signature amidst the mayhem. He knew it was probably hopeless, but that same stubborn streak that had kept him alive made him keep looking. He ignored Kurama's attempts to get him to eat something, or rest, until at least, he no longer had a choice. He was only vaguely aware of Kurama's anxious voice calling out to him as his head hit the floor, consciousness fading rapidly. He wanted to scold the fox for distracting him, but he didn't have the energy. Against his will, his Jagan closed, and Hiei slept.

Hiei's eyes opened, and he groaned; his head was killing him. Hard stone was beneath him, and he frowned, pretty certain that Kurama wouldn't have left him on the floor once he had passed out. A sudden voice spoke up, and Hiei realized that, against all odds, he had found Yusuke. Or the Detective had found him. He didn't much care either way.

"You look like shit, man," Yusuke muttered out loud, his voice echoing faintly in his new cell. Judging by the way Hiei was feeling, he wasn't the only one. He noted that Yusuke appeared to be sitting, at least, and the other boy obliged him by lifting his head and looking around the prison room. His arms were spread outwards and above him, not comfortable, but not enough to really hurt, either. His legs were shackled as well, a short chain between them forcing him to sit with his legs crossed. The stone was cold against their back, and Hiei realized that the other boy wasn't wearing a shirt. Blood and bruises blossomed across dark skin, barely visible in the dim light from torches outside the cell. Yusuke was alone.

Hiei snorted, irritation and relief warring for dominance. Eventually, he settled on neutral. "You're looking pretty rough yourself, Detective," he muttered back, glad that his voice stayed between them, instead of being spoken out loud, because that would've just been creepy.

Yusuke chuckled tiredly. "You were looking for me, were you?" Hiei scowled, but didn't respond, because they both knew the answer. Yusuke tilted his back and let it hit the wall with a quiet thump. "Thanks," he said, and his tone was sincere and almost happy. "You got any idea where I am?" he asked next. "Because I don't know about you, Hiei, but I don't want to stay here longer than I've gotta. I'm surprised that idiot didn't just kill me when he had the chance, 'cause as soon as I'm outta this place, he's mine."

Hiei grinned fiercely, baring his teeth. He knew his eyes would be glowing in anticipation if he had a physical body. Instead, he just replied, "I don't know where you are yet, but since I've got you, we're going to find out. There's no way I'm leaving you there. I can't believe you got caught. Again," he added, almost as an afterthought, the temptation to needle the Detective too strong to resist.

A tired huff of amusement, and Yusuke growled back, "Yeah, well, you and Kurama didn't exactly do a bang-up job yourselves." Sudden noise outside the cell had Yusuke looking up, Hiei forced to follow his gaze. Shadows danced across the hallway, and a silhouette blocked out the light to the cell for a moment. The soft clink of a key in the lock, and suddenly the cell door was opening to admit Uragiri.

The toushin stared at him contemplatively for a moment, as if trying to solve a particularly tricky puzzle. Yusuke forced his expression into one of disinterest and waited for the youkai to say what he had to say. Suddenly, the toushin's hand darted out. Yusuke flinched, and Hiei understood why a moment later as pain wracked through his – Yusuke's – their body, starting at the cheek where Uragiri had touched him. The Detective held out for several seconds, but he was tired and hurt and there was nobody here to hear him be weak but Hiei. He opened his mouth and howled, crying out with the agony that tore through his body. Hiei just gritted his teeth and held on, refusing to allow himself to be separated from Yusuke.

After what seemed like an hour, but had probably only been a couple of minutes, Uragiri withdrew his hand and stood, examining Yusuke, who had bowed his head towards his chest, his breath coming out in ragged sobs, his body twitching with residual strain and phantom pains. His wrists had been torn open again, the blood welling up around the shackles and trickling slowly down his arms. Sweat glistened on his body as his chest heaved, his heartbeat trying to regulate itself into something that passed for normal.

"Please explain to your friend that if he wants to see you alive, he would do well to cease all attempts to locate you. I need you alive for the moment, but if I must, I will kill you. Do I make myself clear?" he asked, his voice deceptively soft. In response, Yusuke spit at him, a combination of saliva and blood. Uragiri just laughed, obviously delighted by Yusuke's defiance. "You are a stubborn one, aren't you?" he crooned softly. "Very well, then. Round two."

With that, he touched Yusuke again, this time wrapping his hand around his throat, and Yusuke tried to scream as the bolts of agony coursed through him over and over again. Still, the hand tightened, choking off his air. Yusuke's heart beat wildly, unable to support his thrashing body. Hiei howled in fury as their vision blurred and he was thrown out of the Detective's mind. As he left, he made a promise, not sure if Yusuke heard him or not, but hoping he had nonetheless.

"I'm coming for you, Yusuke."

Hiei woke abruptly, his heart beating rapidly as he gasped for air, his skin tingling with phantom pain. He was aware of the presence in the room with him, and twisted his head to stare wide-eyed at Kurama, whose expressive green eyes were watching him worriedly, the other male's fear obvious. "Are you okay, Hiei?" he asked softly, his gaze sweeping over the smaller youkai as if to assess damage. Hiei just frowned and shook his head, then nodded. He was fine. It was Yusuke who wasn't doing so well.

Forcing himself into a sitting position on the bed, Hiei allowed his head to tip back and closed his eyes. Shadows danced across his mind, though, and he opened them again, not wanting to relive Yusuke's suffering. "That bastard's already started in on him," he growled fiercely, his teeth cutting into his lip as he bared his fangs at the phantom memory of Uragiri's hands touching Yusuke, making him scream bloody murder. It wasn't a sound that he'd forget anytime soon.

Kurama nibbled lightly on his bottom lip, his mind already working through, and discarding, plan after plan. "Rescue? Or all-out frontal assault?" he murmured, almost to himself. Hiei kept his mouth shut; he didn't care, as long as they got Yusuke out of there. A long pause, then Kurama turned to him. "Can you find him again?" he asked abruptly.

Hiei blinked, then took a moment to think about it before nodding. Kurama smiled grimly. "Good. Keep him occupied, and see if you can figure out where he is. Don't stick around if Uragiri comes in to torture him some more. I have to go report to Koenma." Hiei shrugged; he didn't see what help the infant would be, but if Kurama thought it was necessary, he wasn't going to argue.

Closing his eyes, he turned his back on Kurama and sought out that tenuous connection that had been established. Soft footsteps indicated that Kurama had left, and Hiei sighed and turned to his own task. It was time to find Yusuke.


	10. Chapter 10

It didn't take Hiei long to locate the Detective. This was probably due to the fact that he had been in Yusuke's head more often in the last month than in the entire time they had known each other. The younger boy was breathing heavily, his body covered in sweat and blood, and his clothes hanging around him in tatters. His eyes were barely open, so when Hiei brushed against his mind, he at first couldn't see anything but blackness.

"Hey, Hiei. Welcome back," Yusuke greeted tiredly, and Hiei nodded in approval; the boy hadn't completely lost his wits yet if he could still acknowledge the fire youkai's presence. "You talk to Kurama?" he asked curiously, his voice weary.

Hiei grunted affirmatively. "The fox is reporting to Koenma. I'm supposed to…distract you," he admitted with a vague sense of disgust. Yusuke just chuckled tiredly, rolling his head back so that it pressed against the stones behind him.

"Distract me, huh? And how to you plan to do that? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're here," Yusuke admitted wryly, rousing himself a bit, "but it's a little hard to not remember that I'm back in prison. This is so lame," he muttered to himself, and Hiei almost chuckled at the plaintive tone. If Yusuke could still whine about his predicament, then there was still time. It meant that he hadn't given up yet.

Yusuke must have picked up on his train of thought, because Hiei felt a surge of irrational anger flow through the other boy. It took the fire demon a minute to realize that the anger wasn't directed at him. "Am I really that pathetic?" Yusuke demanded, and now the tone had turned to bitter disgust. Hiei refused to back down and just waited out the surge of emotions. As he had hoped, Yusuke was too exhausted to bother holding onto his anger, and he slumped back against the wall, the chains on his wrists clanking miserably in the dungeon cell.

"Not pathetic, Detective," Hiei answered at last, his voice steady and certain. "Reckless, certainly. Possibly even insane. But not pathetic." Yusuke absorbed this new information for a moment, his body still as he mulled over Hiei's words. Eventually, a trickle of wry amusement flowed through him, and Yusuke grinned.

"Aww…Hiei, I didn't know you cared," he chuckled. Hiei felt a brief flash of annoyance, which only served to further entertain the Toushin leader. Still smiling, Yusuke shifted, trying to find a comfortable position and wincing as recent injuries were pulled with the movement. "Damn, that's gonna hurt for a while," he muttered under his breath, scowling.

He hated to bring up the topic again, but he had to ask. "How long before Uragiri comes back?" he growled, his hands twitching with the urge to hunt the bastard down and spray the walls with the blood of his enemy. He let the thoughts wash over Yusuke as well, and the other boy didn't protest, his own desire for vengeance – for his people who had been slaughtered so senselessly, to prove a point – riding on the waves of Hiei's fury and determination.

"I don't know," he gasped out, his eyes focusing on the thin bars of torchlight that flickered out in the hallway. "A messenger of some sort arrived. He promised to come back once he was done dealing with whatever news the messenger brought. It could be thirty seconds from now, or thirty minutes. But he won't wait very long, I think." Hiei nodded reluctantly; no doubt Uragiri would cut his meeting short if it went beyond what he considered an acceptable time.

"Then we do not have much time," Hiei murmured. Yusuke just rolled his eyes, his thoughts quite clear. What good would it do to distract him now? Probably not much, Hiei realized. It would be much better just to give Yusuke something to focus on, something to anticipate for after his inevitable rescue. Because he _would_ be rescued; there was no other option.

Hiei made a split-second decision that would either scare Yusuke away for good, or give him the focus he needed to make it out of here in one piece. "My offer from before still stands," he stated suddenly, the non-sequitur catching Yusuke by surprised. The Detective frowned as he tried to follow Hiei's line of thought. Once he caught on, his breath caught in a muffled gasp and his body tensed. Hiei waited him out again, very careful to appear open and non-threatening.

Yusuke was obviously having an internal struggle, but eventually, curiosity and trust won out over fear, and he nodded. "All right," he murmured. "But….not too fast, okay?" Hiei held back a smile by sheer force of will, and instead nodded approvingly. The Detective was willing to give it a go, to learn the difference between what did happen and what could have happened, and more importantly, he was willing to trust that Hiei wouldn't hurt him. At least, not more than he wanted to be hurt. Hiei was well aware that Yusuke had a slightly masochistic side, probably as a result of the way he'd been raised.

"That shouldn't be a problem, Detective," he replied after a moment, calculating his words carefully before speaking. "After all, we've already begun in a way." He flashed back to memories of the two of them curled up together after Yusuke had suffered a nightmare. Two bodies spooned together for warmth and comfort. The massage, a touch intended to soothe and relax, not to hurt. Holding onto each other, as much for their own benefit as for each other's. Hiei would normally never admit to having such a weakness, but just this once he allowed Yusuke to feel what he had felt; the touch had felt good, had been comforting, and it had soothed some deep ache inside of him that had torn every time he remembered wondering if Yusuke had been taken from them forever.

Hiei searched back further in his memory, to encounters with other youkai, both as the top and the bottom. He was careful to choose only those partners who had been gentle, and who he had been gentle with. It would do no good to show Yusuke what happened when your partner didn't care for your pleasure, or enjoyed your pain. Once Hiei had become strong enough, and deadly enough, to be able to choose, he had always been careful with his partners. Because he knew what it was like to be on the other side, and he refused to lower himself to such a level.

Yusuke's body relaxed, and Hiei was interested to realize that the other male didn't seem to mind that he'd had multiple partners in the past decades. Instead, he seemed to be more interested in studying certain features of his various lovers, whether wings or hands or hair or tails or claws. It was a vague, detached interest, as if his curiosity had more to do with the types of youkai rather than their skills or beauty as lovers. Hiei almost smiled; Yusuke was still young, and it would take him years to learn the majority of species among youkai. But for now, Hiei was content to show some of them to Yusuke, careful not to show him anything too graphic, but not really hiding anything about those encounters from him either.

A sudden creak made Yusuke start, his head snapping up as he stared wide-eyed at the approaching toushin. "Uragiri," he snarled, eyes narrowing as he bared his teeth, his body straining against the chains that held him. Hiei, for the moment, was forgotten.

Aware that it would probably be best for him to heed Kurama's advice and not stick around, Hiei was nonetheless loath to leave Yusuke to this man's torture. He growled deep in his throat, the sound dangerous and full of lethal intent. The Mazoku echoed him, and for just a moment, Uragiri hesitated, uncertainty flickering in his dark eyes as he watched Yusuke straining to reach him, his gaze promising nothing but death.

The chains held firm, however, and after a moment, Uragiri seemed to regain his confidence. Striding over to Yusuke, he casually backhanded him, snapping Yusuke's head to the side and splitting his lip open on sharp canines. Yusuke growled furiously, and when Uragiri went to backhand him again, he snapped, his own fangs barely grazing the traitor's hand, scraping skin. The toushin hissed, his eyes narrowing in fury. "You'll suffer for that, half-breed," he snarled.

Yusuke glared up at him. "Like I'm not already?" he demanded, and only Hiei could feel the cold fear that gripped him, rendering him unable to breathe, waiting for the first strike, the first tear of claws into unprotected flesh, or another touch that would send agony tearing through his body.

This seemed to have the opposite effect, however, and Uragiri paused, his hand stilling as he stared down at the trapped Detective consideringly. His hand lowered, and he smiled; there was nothing safe in his expression, and Hiei felt a thrill of fear creep up his own spine. "Very well. It seems that old-fashioned beating isn't going to work. And you've found a way to use your spirit energy to shield your body from anything more…invasive," he murmured, and Yusuke shuddered, swallowing hard.

This appeared to amuse Uragiri and he crouched down in front of Yusuke. Reaching out, he gripped the Detective's hair tightly in one hand, using the leverage to yank his head back, heedless of the sharp crack of Yusuke's skull against the stones of his cell. Hiei's vision blurred briefly, and when it cleared, he found himself staring straight up at a pointed claw. "So you are afraid of that, boy. I had wondered if you were a virgin." Yusuke tried to snarl back, but it came out as a muted whimper instead, and Uragiri laughed. "Pity that you managed to find a way to stop that brute. He would've broken you for sure," he chuckled. Yusuke didn't reply, and inside his head, Hiei seethed. Ten seconds, and that beast would be dead, his blood splashed across the cell from wall to wall.

Slowly, Uragiri traced his claw under Yusuke's right eye, leaving a small incision that welled up with blood. "Perhaps…I should take your eyes," he murmured. "After all, I really don't care for the way you're looking at me right now." He stared at Yusuke curiously for a moment, his clawed finger tapping against the Detective's cheek now, leaving small puncture marks in its wake. "Maybe, though, the way to break you isn't to hurt you," he said. "But what about your friends? The beautiful silver-tailed fox and the little runt of a fire demon? I doubt they have the same…protection…as you do," he smiled, and there was nothing sane in his eyes.

Sudden fury rose inside of Yusuke, and Hiei just watched in wonder. He knew Yusuke wasn't a coward, but he hadn't realized that what had seemed to him to be false bravado was actually nothing more than an overflow of anger that gave him strength. "Go ahead," Yusuke snarled. "Take my eye, if it damn well pleases you. And when I get out of here, you'd better take your own life. Because I swear I'll hunt you down. There will be no escape. Lay a hand on Kurama or Hiei, and I will annihilate you," he snarled. Hiei watched through Yusuke's eyes as Uragiri drew back slightly, his hesitation obvious as a flicker of fear flashed in his eyes. The fire demon nodded approvingly; even at a complete disadvantage, Yusuke's sheer determination was enough to make the other youkai cower.

Seeming to realize that he was in no real danger, at least not yet, Uragiri snarled and raked a handful of claws across Yusuke's face, from his right temple to his left cheek, careless of the claw marks he left across the Detective's right eye. Yusuke howled, jerking in the chains that bound him, and they creaked, stone sliding away in a small shower of dust. Still, the bolts held fast, and Yusuke remained where he was, glaring hotly up at the youkai from his good eye.

Convinced that he had the upper hand, the treacherous toushin crouched in front of Yusuke once again. "Tell me, fearless leader, where is your help now? Surely they are aware that having lost my hold on you once, I won't allow you to go again. After all, you know who I am. So do they. If I am to die, then I will at least make absolutely certain that you don't survive the encounter either."

Yusuke panted through the pain, his vision blurring as he struggled to focus on the youkai in front of him. "Then you had better kill me now, asshole. If you don't, you're gonna die and I'm gonna survive. If you have a point to prove, you'd best get to it." It was a challenge, and Hiei held his breath, unsure if that had been a wise move. After all, if Uragiri truly intended to kill Yusuke, then the only reason the Mazoku was alive was because he either needed something from the other boy, or there was something else keeping him from killing Yusuke.

Uragiri tsked, unfazed. "But if I were to kill you outright, how would I amuse myself until the revolt?" he asked, his amusement evident. Yusuke just gaped up at him in utter shock, his mind trying frantically to wrap itself around the new information. He wasn't talking about a revolt; he was talking war! Yusuke knew for certain that he had a significant number of S-class youkai on his side, and it was unlikely that either Yomi or Mukuro would just sit by and watch as Yusuke's people became embroiled in a civil war.

Yusuke was brought abruptly back to the present by Uragiri's touch, agony tearing through his limbs as the toushin sunk claws deep into his chest. Hiei held on determinedly; the other youkai had either not yet noticed his presence, or had decided that he would be safe for long enough that it didn't matter. The smaller youkai was hoping for the former, because now he knew what he was looking for.

A sudden push, and Hiei realized that Yusuke was trying to get him to leave, but his focus kept slipping, his consciousness slowly fading once more, only the pain keeping him in the here and now. Hiei didn't want to leave, but he knew that his presence no longer served any purpose. He had what he had come for; the best thing to do now would be to retreat and make his report, and then launch a rescue.

Regretfully, he pulled back, making a single promise. "His head is mine." As he left Yusuke in that horrible little cell, agony coursing through him, he heard a single answer.

"Agreed."


	11. Chapter 11

Hiei stared dazedly up at the ceiling of Kurama's bedroom, panting as he tried to regain his equilibrium. He felt Kurama over to his right, in front of the window, those green eyes staring at him concernedly. When he felt he could speak without choking, Hiei asked, "I don't suppose Koenma's heard of places of unrest, where an army might be gathering, has he?"

Kurama tilted his head and watched him. "And if he has?" Hiei just glared at him pointedly, refusing to dignify the fox with a response, and Kurama sighed. "That's what I was afraid of." He padded over to Hiei and sat beside him on the bed, the mattress dipping and sending Hiei rolling slightly towards him. The fire demon didn't protest this, nor the fingers that combed gently through his hair, soothing him. He and Kurama had never been lovers, but they had grown close over the years since their initial alliance to steal the Artifacts from under Koenma's nose.

"I wonder if there are any hidden tunnels or safe houses?" Kurama murmured, as Hiei watched him absentmindedly map out the area in his head. "There's nothing in the open, and no hidden entrances that I'm aware of." This worried Hiei slightly; Youko Kurama was a fox and a thief, and always knew where to find hidden tunnels and dens and the like. He needed them, both as hiding places and as places to avoid, places from where an ambush might originate.

The important part, though, was that if there was nothing there, then where was Yusuke? Surely, he had to be nearby, so that Uragiri could rally the troops or whatever it was he was doing with them. "Are there even any troops?" Hiei asked suddenly as a new thought occurred to him. "Or is he just trying to spread unrest among the people? Because he could do that from almost anywhere," he pointed out matter-of-factly.

Kurama frowned at him, but answered. "Right now, there is no such thing as a formal army. The toushin on Yusuke's side are still hunting for him, and Yusuke's gathered a significant number of allies over the past several years. But there have been rumors that the civilians are being armed, and more importantly, that there have been several attacks like the one we came upon, where the youkai are left dead or dying. At least two villages have been all but wiped out. I believe that they are being told that Yusuke has ordered it to be done."

Hiei scowled; anybody who knew Urameshi knew he would never order such a thing done. If he had a problem with you, he'd take it up with you personally. He wouldn't involve innocents in his battles. But Yusuke traveled to the Makai only occasionally, often leaving it in the hands of his advisors and a trusted regent. His subjects had only seen him maybe a handful of times. And since he was at least half human, it wasn't that far of a stretch to believe that maybe he was tired of dealing with the youkai and would rather they were all dead. Prejudice wasn't uncommon between the two worlds, and to a nation being terrorized, all it would take was a little push. Especially if the one doing the talking was a certain toushin who had been one of Lord Urameshi's trusted advisers.

"How is he holding up?" Kurama asked suddenly. Hiei blinked and stared up at him, debating whether or not to answer. Still, he had questions of his own, and if he wanted them answered, he supposed he'd better tell Kurama what he wanted to know.

Slipping off the bed and moving over to the window where he could stare out at the night sky, Hiei answered honestly. "That bastard's been torturing him, and threating to hurt us to gain his cooperation. So far, the Detective is holding his own, but he's hurt. Badly," he admitted frankly, not holding anything back. It was urgent that they rescue Yusuke as quickly as possible, and if that meant that he had to exaggerate a tiny bit, then so be it. Yusuke's healing powers were allowing him to recover at a decent pace, but that was only because Uragiri was allowing him short periods of time in which to recuperate.

Hiei was under no illusions. If he didn't get what he wanted, then he would kill Yusuke, and not even the Spirit World would be allowed to revive him again. He had cheated death twice now. Hiei didn't trust that a miracle would happen a third time.

Spirit pressure below the window, and Hiei gazed down at the human who was staring back up at him. Kuwabara raised a single hand and beckoned to him, then turned and strode away. Hiei glanced back at Kurama, who nodded, then opened the window and leapt to the ground, following Kuwabara, Kurama coming behind them.

Kuwabara didn't stop until he was well within a small forested area of the park. Nobody was around this time of night, and Hiei and Kurama met him under a tall pine tree. "What is it, oaf?" Hiei demanded immediately, scowling. This had better be good, for the human to drag him out here. If it was something idiotic, he was going to beat the shit out of the taller boy.

Brown eyes glanced down at him in annoyance, but Kuwabara let it slide, which worried Hiei; the tall human never let a chance pass to tease Hiei. That he had mostly ignored the fire demon in favor of whatever it was he had to say left a terrible feeling in Hiei's stomach, and he grimaced, but fell silent. It had to be about Yusuke, because anything else just wasn't important enough.

"Botan is at Genkai's place right now," he said quietly. "She said that Koenma's people are still out hunting for Yusuke, but they've been pushed out of toushin lands. Apparently, there's something going down, and the advisors don't want any outsiders involved." Hiei and Kurama glanced at each other; it looked like the rebellion was finally getting started, and those fools had just more or less trapped themselves into a war they couldn't win. It wouldn't take long for word to reach Yomi and Mukuro, and when that happened, all hell would break loose. They had to get in there, now!

Kurama gazed steadily up at Kuwabara. "Yes, we had heard that there have been several…incidents in Yusuke's lands, recently. But why call us out here if Koenma is negotiating with the toushin advisors?" he asked quietly. Kuwabara frowned, his eyes growing hard and angry, and a fleeting look of understanding crossed Kurama's face. "They've locked down all diplomatic relations with the Spirit World, haven't they?" he asked quietly. The human nodded, still angry.

Hiei snorted, his mind working quickly. He was nothing if not strategic. "Then the toddler can't do anything because he's bogged down in red tape. But if word was to get to a small group, such as the rest of Urameshi's team, and that team was to slip into toushin lands, then negotiations could continue, as long as the godling could deny any knowledge of our movements." A flicker of approval in Kuwabara's eyes told him that he was on the right track, and he grinned viciously, baring sharp fangs. "Well, then, shall we go?"

"Even knowing that it might be a trap?" Kurama asked quietly. Hiei turned to look at him, frowning. It was unlikely to be a trap this time, because Uragiri would be so certain that the toushins currently stopping negotiations would prevent them from entering as well, but it was certainly a possibility that he had made preparations for such an undertaking, just as a precaution. Still, they didn't have time to wait around, and Hiei wasn't about to waste any more time arguing with them.

Reaching up, he removed the seal over his Jagan, and before Kurama could react, he flooded both of them with images of Yusuke, chained to the wall in that cell, bruised and cut and damn near hopeless. He flashed an image of Uragiri touching him, sending jolts of debilitating agony through his body, raking claws across his face and down his chest. In short, he showed them what Yusuke was suffering through, right now, while they stood there and debated the wisdom of going in, yet again, to rescue the Mazoku.

Hiei snarled, pulling back and resealing his Jagan. Kurama's green eyes were troubled, but his expression was passive. The fox was holding in his emotions while he sorted through what he had just seen, but Hiei knew him better than that. There was no way that Kurama was going to leave the Spirit Detective there, not if he could help him. Kuwabara, on his other side, was pale and shaking, his eyes wide and worried, and Hiei almost – _almost _– regretted having shown him the images as well.

Kuwabara shook his head. "That's it. I don't care if it is a trap. We'll get Botan to open a portal from Genkai's place, and then we'll go save Yusuke. And I'm coming along this time," he growled, as if daring the two youkai to oppose him. Hiei had no intention of doing so; if the human wanted to come, then so be it. He'd make a good shield, if nothing else.

Kurama nodded, though. "That would probably be a good idea. You're more aware than the rest of us, even when we're being cautious." Hiei scowled, hating that it was true. Kuwabara always seemed to choose the safest route, or knew the enemy was approaching before the rest of the team. Yusuke relied on him a lot more than he let on, and Kuwabara was more than willing to do whatever he could for the smaller boy. Their relationship was one of trust, despite the fact that they regularly tried to beat the crap out of each other.

Hiei could say he didn't understand, but that would be a lie. After all, hadn't he attacked Yusuke before as well, trusting that the boy was strong enough to dodge and fight back? Yusuke learned fast, and continued to grow in power, which was an admirable trait, as far as Hiei was concerned. With a sigh, he grouched, "If we must. I'm going ahead."

And with that, he took off, heading for Genkai's. He had no worries that the others wouldn't make it in time; it would take Botan a while to open an unauthorized gate into the Makai anyhow, and Hiei wanted to make sure that they ended up behind enemy lines. As much as he'd love to shed a great deal of his enemies' blood, retrieving Yusuke and eliminating the cause of the unrest was prioritized. There would be time enough later to hunt down the instigators. For now, he'd be content to take Uragiri's head.

A small tingle in the back of his mind, and Hiei realized that a part of him was still tracking Yusuke. Trusting his instincts to get him safely to Genkai's, the fire demon opened up a little bit, just enough to have a more solid sense of the Spirit Detective. He couldn't see where he was right now, or what was happening, but he could feel the other male's presence, strong and steady.

"Oh, good," Yusuke muttered through the bond. "It _is_ you. I was afraid that son of a bitch had done something to me and screwed with my mind." Hiei snorted; the toushin were not known for having telepathic abilities, which Yusuke would know if he ever bothered to pay attention to his lessons. The Detective must've heard at least part of that, because he sniped, "It's not like I could help it. My so-called advisors are more boring than my _teachers _were, and that's just sad."

Hiei was well-acquainted with Yusuke's low opinion of the human school system. Since he had never felt the need to even get near a school building, he couldn't really say. Kurama didn't seem to have a problem, but then again, he was several centuries old. It's not like the humans could teach him anything he didn't already know.

Instead, he chose to simply ignore the complaint, and said, "Don't worry about it, Detective. He won't have much longer to live, anyhow." He felt Yusuke's interest stir at that, but the boy didn't ask him what was going on, which was just as well. He wanted only to give the Detective warning, but he didn't want Uragiri to catch on. So the less Yusuke knew, the better for all of them.

"You could call me by my first name, ya know," Yusuke mumbled. Hiei resisted the urge to roll his eyes; of all the things for him to bring up, the way Hiei addressed him was his chosen topic? Granted, it was a safe topic, for the most part, but insignificant. It hardly mattered what Hiei chose to call him, did it?

A flicker of anger, but Yusuke appeared to be swallowing his words, which aroused Hiei's own curiosity. Apparently, this was a sore point for the younger male, but Hiei didn't understand why. It was just a title. It's not like Hiei was insulting him, either. The fact that a human-youkai hybrid was Koenma's prized Spirit Detective in Ningenkai was nothing to be ashamed of.

Yusuke had withdrawn, though, shutting down. Hiei scowled; if the Detective wanted to behave so childishly, then so be it. He didn't have time to baby him anymore. "See you soon, Detective," he growled, before closing the link completely, severing himself from Yusuke. He staggered briefly at the lost contact, only now realizing that he had never truly closed it since he had found the Mazoku after Uragiri had gotten hold of him. Damn.

Hiei slowed as he reached Genkai's place, scanning the area warily. Most youkai weren't stupid enough to try and attack this place, but he wouldn't put it past Uragiri to know about the old lady and have an ambush waiting. Movement to the left caught his attention, and Hiei remained in his tree as Master Genkai herself came out and stood just outside the gates. "There were others here, but I sent them away," she stated calmly, not looking in Hiei's direction. "Come in if you want. Or don't," she added, then turned and walked away.

Hiei just scowled and flitted down to the ground, then slipped inside the holy grounds of the shrine, feeling the tingle of the barriers the old lady maintained. Genkai might be getting old, but she was still as sharp and ready as ever. Hiei found himself grateful that of all the things Yusuke could have demanded for winning the Dark Tournament, his only request had been that Genkai be revived and allowed to live out her natural lifespan. The loss of his teacher had been a heavy blow to the boy, and he had nearly lost it when he realized that she had died because she had given what power she had to him. The Mazoku absolutely hated it when people made sacrifices for him, and it tore him more deeply than any beating or torture the enemy could put him through.

In which case, he was going to go ballistic when the rest of his team appeared in the Makai without authorization or backup, their only goal retrieving him. He'd probably yell at them long and loud, until he had no more breath to yell with. Hiei almost smiled imagining it; he had no intentions of sticking around the whole time, but it might be fun to stay for a little while, completely indifferent to whatever Yusuke had to say, if only to see him get frustrated. Hiei wondered if Yusuke would be pissed off enough for his demon markings to show.

"Hiei!" The annoying voice calling his name made the fire demon flinch, his hand touching his katana for a moment before he forced it down and away, scowling as he turned to face the blue-haired ferry girl. Botan came hurrying towards him, her eyes wide and worried, and Hiei relaxed; it wasn't her fault that her voice vibrated like a banshee's wail in his ears. She was just concerned about Yusuke, and Hiei was the first one of his team to arrive.

Still, he had no intention of listening to her blather, so he held up a hand to forestall her. "Open a portal. Behind enemy lines," he ordered curtly. Botan stopped, stared, and then opened her mouth to protest, but Hiei cut her off. "Do you want to save the Detective or not?" he snapped. Botan nodded mutely, biting her lower lip. "Then do as I say. The others will be here by the time you're done, no doubt."

With that, Hiei turned and walked away, certain that the ferry girl would do as he had ordered. She might be hesitant to break the rules, but she wanted to save Yusuke as much as anybody, so she'd do her part and open the portal. Kurama could open one as well, but since he wasn't authorized to do so, there was always the chance that he'd set off alarms in the Spirit World and they'd find themselves under arrest.

The next person Hiei saw was his sister, Yukina. He slowed down, but she just smiled gently at him, nodding in greeting as he passed by. She knew that he was her brother – that loudmouthed Kuwabara had blurted it out – but she respected the distance that he kept between them. A male fire demon had no place in the life of an ice maiden, and while Yukina didn't agree, she at least permitted him to pretend that nothing had changed. It was a small blessing, and one that Hiei was grateful for. As long as he never admitted it out loud, his promise to Shigure to keep his relation to Yukina a secret remained intact.

Walking into a spacious room with doors on three of the four sides, Hiei found Genkai sitting cross-legged on the floor, smoking while she stared at a large painting of a forest. Yusuke had once asked the old lady if the picture was of a place she had been. Genkai had just knocked him flat on his ass and distracted him with training. Whatever this place meant to Genkai, it wasn't something that the rest of them were permitted to intrude upon.

Hiei settled himself in a corner of the room, standing while he continued to gaze around the room. He didn't like that there were so many entrances, but he had faith in Genkai's barriers, and in his own ability to defend himself should there be an attack, however improbable. He waited patiently for the old woman to speak; he could do nothing until the portal was open and the others had arrived, regardless.

Finally, nearly twenty minutes later, Genkai stirred, glancing back at him once before turning to gaze once more at the painting. "That punk got himself into trouble again, did he?" she asked at least, her gravelly voice steady. Hiei suspected that she cared about her student a lot more than she let on, but he would never directly accuse her of it. Instead he just gave an affirmative 'Hn'. The flicker of a smile flitted across her face, and her eyes crinkled at the corners.

"I see," she murmured. Suddenly, her entire focus was on him, and Hiei stood his ground, returning her steady stare. "You take good care of him, hear me?" she demanded. Hiei blinked, nonplussed, and Genkai just snorted. "Just because I'm old, it doesn't mean I'm senile. I notice more than any of you who pride yourselves on your knowledge and prowess." She stated this so matter-of-factly that Hiei wasn't about to contradict her, but he wondered. When she said take care of, did she mean rescuing the Detective? Or was she talking about something longer-term?

It hardly mattered, and Hiei turned away, heading for the door. Kuwabara and Kurama were heading up the stairs. He paused a moment before leaving, feeling Genkai's watchful eyes on his back. "I won't hurt him," he promised, the only concession he was willing to give. Genkai shifted behind him, and he felt her turn back towards the painting before she replied.

"I know."


	12. Chapter 12

**To A Random Guy** – First. Please stop reading this story if you don't like it. Thanks so much. I see you reviewed at chapter 8, so perhaps you have stopped already. Secondly, please sign in if you're going to leave a review so I can send a PM in response, instead of wasting everybody's valuable time by having to write to you here. Lastly, there is too much going on in this fic right now for Yusuke to have much time to think about what's happening. Perhaps some day I will edit it and take out that entire scene (or adjust it), but not right now, and as it stands now, it will tie into the sequel as Yusuke and Hiei try to progress their relationship.

**To everybody else** – Sorry for taking away an entire paragraph to write to the above person. Please enjoy the newest chapter!

It didn't take long to get the portal opened once Botan had determined the appropriate location, and then Urameshi's rescuers were behind enemy lines and making headway fast. Hiei's Jagan was wide open, tracking the area around them, hunting for Yusuke's presence, or for the barrier that was hiding him. Kuwabara's spirit awareness had kept them out of trouble so far, allowing him to detour them around clusters of youkai. They didn't know which ones might be friendly, but it wasn't safe for any youkai to know that they were here. So they kept their distance, Kurama covering their tracks as they moved, using a special type of pollen to mask their scent.

Still, they probably would have walked right past Yusuke if it hadn't been for Kuwabara. Hiei would never admit it out loud, but the boy's abilities had their uses, and this was one of them. He stopped moving, and the two youkai paused as well. Kuwabara was frowning, a small furrow between his brows showing his puzzlement. "He's around here…somewhere," he muttered. Hiei didn't blame him for his confusion; 'here' was a wide plain of absolutely nothing. Grass and plants, not even any hills that might hold caves or burrows. But neither Hiei nor Kurama doubted him; Kuwabara was nothing if not perceptive when it came to locating spirit energy.

Kurama looked around the area carefully, before pausing to stare at the ground beneath their feet. After nearly an hour of contemplation, moving a few steps one way before backtracking around another, the fox smiled in triumph, golden eyes gleaming as his tail lashed merrily behind him. He was enjoying himself. Hiei and Kuwabara just kept an eye out for the enemy. It was possible that they had managed to avoid detection, but they weren't taking any chances, especially if Yusuke was right here, below them.

"Hiei, if you could come stand here, please," the kitsune purred. Hiei scowled, but did as he was told; nobody knew traps better than Youko Kurama, and the last thing he wanted was to end up captured or dead because he set off some stupidly effective trap after stepping on the wrong patch of dirt.

Once he was satisfied with Hiei's placement and balance, he beckoned to Kuwabara. Hiei had to hide his smile when the kitsune had the human drop to all fours, his feet and hands splayed awkwardly out from his body, holding his torso and hips off the ground. He looked utterly ridiculous, but as the tallest one of the three, he was able to cover a longer area of ground. Nodding in approval, Kurama moved to yet another spot, setting his feet carefully before reaching into his long hair and pulling out a handful of seeds, which he tossed into the approximate center of their makeshift little square.

Brilliant orange blossoms burst out of the seeds and almost immediately, the ground in front of the two youkai and the human disappeared in a cloud of dust, caving in. Looking down into a deep pit, Hiei scowled; a fall from that height probably would've hurt. Especially if there was something sharp and deadly down at the bottom.

"Ah, there we are!" Youko exclaimed merrily, his eyes twinkling. "Hiei, you can go first. I'm second, then Kuwabara. Be sure to move your feet before your hands so the hole doesn't widen, won't you?" he crooned at the human, obviously amused.

Kuwabara just grumbled, but nodded, eyeing the hole warily. Obviously, he didn't want to fall either. "Fine, but could we hurry this up? There's people coming, and they're moving fast. I don't think they liked us setting off their trap."

Hiei located the moving youkai with his Jagan and grinned viciously. "That's a casual speed for them, actually. They're not in any particular hurry. No doubt they're expecting nothing but carcasses when they arrive. They're going to be so disappointed." Kurama chuckled, then gestured for Hiei to lead the way. Moving off his spot, Hiei glanced down the hole and saw what he hadn't seen before. Obviously the fox had the better vantage point. There was a very narrow staircase leading down into the blackness. No problem.

"Careful not to fall, oaf," he taunted before flitting down the stairs, his feet carrying him easily down the narrow stairwell. This was a good thing as it meant that any enemies at the bottom were likely to be smaller, or to be flying youkai. Large, lumbering youkai would never make it down these stairs, and flying youkai would be all but useless underground, as long as Hiei kept an eye on the ceiling.

At the bottom, Hiei came to a narrow ledge and paused, glancing into the pit in the center and grimacing; falling onto those sharp spikes of steel would have hurt. Badly. He just hoped that the other two made it down safe; after all, while he didn't much care for Kuwabara, if the human died, Yusuke would probably blame him. Besides, more hands weren't exactly a bad idea. If nothing else, Kuwabara could carry Yusuke out of here.

Hiei smirked to himself, imagining how embarrassed Yusuke would be at having to not only be rescued like a damsel in distress, but also at being carried by the very manly Kuwabara. Eager now to rescue the Spirit Detective and be done with this whole mess, Hiei took off, trusting the fox to take care of getting Kuwabara down.

The first enemy he found, rounding a corner, died by his blade, losing his head before he could call for help. The same went for the second and third. The corridor he was running down was wide enough for two normal-sized youkai to walk side-by-side, so there was no way to hide from any youkai coming down it. But it had enough curves that if Hiei moved quickly enough, he could kill the enemy and keep moving before an alarm could be raised.

His luck ran out at the fourth enemy, because there were two of them, guarding a fork in the corridor – the first one that Hiei had seen. One was down and dying before Hiei's feet ever hit the ground, but the second youkai had moved quickly, ignoring his companion in favor of sounding an alarm. He didn't scream, which is what clued Hiei in. Instead, he had pressed a notch in the wall, and suddenly, the entire place was filled with youki. Hiei swore under his breath, stabbing the youkai through the heart as he growled, annoyed now. The enemy knew they were there.

He was caught completely off-guard when among the increasing youki of the enemy closing in on him, he felt a bright burst of spirit energy co-mingled with youki. Turning his Jagan in the direction of that source of power, Hiei found Yusuke. The boy was growling fiercely, thrashing in his bonds as if he had the strength to tear them from the wall. His body was more damaged that when Hiei had left, but if the boy still had that much energy, then he was still healing, and healing rapidly.

Ignoring the youkai on his tail, Hiei bolted forward, taking the path on the left. He'd worry about the enemies in front of him; Kurama and Kuwabara could take care of anybody behind him. In small, narrow spaces like this, nobody could outrun him; their only hope would be to either block his way or set traps along the path and hope he triggered them. Even then, they'd have to be fast traps, Hiei smirked as steel bolts shot out of the wall on either side of the path. Behind him.

A falling boulder make Hiei chuckle as he remembered the first time he had been forced to work with Yusuke, in exchange for leniency in his sentencing. The Spirit Detective had taken his share of the weight, and put his trust in Hiei's speed and non-existent loyalty to save them all. At that time, Hiei had only been interested in completing the mission, and could have cared less if the other three had died. They were only around to make things more convenient, but he could have abandoned them at any moment if they impeded his own progress.

Now, though, Yusuke didn't have to verbally put his trust in Hiei; the fire demon would do what he could to save the younger boy, and he wouldn't stop until either he, or the enemy, was dead. Hiei backtracked quickly as a pit opened in front of him, filled with some sort of liquid that let off acrid fumes. Hiei didn't look too closely. Growling, he backed up a bit and took a running start, leaping off the very edge, and then he was falling. His hands caught on the far end of the hole, and he scrabbled onto the stone corridor, his heartbeat racing with the dangerous thrill.

Hiei slowed down a little after that, using his Jagan to actively search for more hidden traps. The pit behind him would buy him some time, because the other youkai would have to find another way around it – or be excellent jumpers. Hiei was betting on the former.

He skimmed around two more traps, then set of a third, catching a barbed bolt through his right thigh, grunting at the impact. Kurama might've seen that one coming, he thought darkly, knowing that he was lucky to have only caught one of the bolts that had shot out of him. Already, he could feel the poison working its way through his system, even having pulled out the bit of metal immediately, but he was so close.

The traps were, surprisingly, further apart, but far more lethal now. Obviously, the enemy hadn't expected anybody to make it this far, but wanted to be absolutely certain that if they did, they wouldn't make it back out alive. Yusuke must be a very valuable prisoner indeed, Hiei thought muzzily, barely avoiding another trap as he staggered, sheer luck leading him to put out his hand to keep from stumbling, which kept his feet just out of range of another trap. Once he had Yusuke, it would be up to the Detective to get them both the hell out of here.

It seemed like an eternity before he reached Yusuke's cell, Hiei's stubbornness and desperation keeping him on his feet. Every step forced the poison to spread further through his veins, though, slowing him, so that his vision blurred and his breathing grew erratic. Stumbling with the latch, Hiei finally snarled impatiently at his clumsy hands and summoned Kokoryuha, the black dragon tearing down the door like it was paper.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing, Hiei?" Yusuke hollered. "Are you tryin' to kill me?" the boy demanded, coughing as he stepped out of the wreckage that had once been his prison, the chains having been destroyed along with most of the room. Hiei had a moment to see the annoyance in those brown eyes change to worry before he collapsed, tumbling forward. Strong arms caught him and lifted him easily, Yusuke's anxious voice calling to him as his eyes slid shut. There was a vague sense of movement, being lowered to the ground, and of an urgent voice, hands skimming frantically over his body.

It was an effort, but he managed to tell Yusuke that Kurama and Kuwabara were coming – or had he? – and then he was gone, lost in a haze of pain and poison, his Jagan sliding shut as he faded. Hiei just hoped that Yusuke had enough energy left to get them out of there. After all, he'd done the hard part.


	13. Chapter 13

When Hiei awoke, it was to another body curled around him, a firm chest pressed against his back and warm breath stirring his hair. Glancing down, he saw the tanned skin and realized that it was Yusuke at his back. Movement in the corner of the room caught his eyes, and Hiei looked up as Kurama approached, his green eyes relieved as he smiled at the smaller youkai.

"Welcome back, Hiei," he murmured, one hand reaching out and carding gently through Hiei's hair. The fire demon resisted the urge to purr, and Kurama smiled brighter, his eyes twinkling in amusement. "You gave us all quite a fright. Between making an antidote for that nasty poison and healing Yusuke's wounds as he faded on us, it was quite an experience." Green eyes slid upwards, and Hiei knew that the fox was checking on Yusuke's condition as well.

"Well, we're obviously still both alive," he said after a moment, stating the obvious. "So you must've managed somehow." Kurama just smiled at him blandly, and Hiei scowled. "Fine. So I found Urameshi, and then lost consciousness," he admitted grudgingly. "Which means that either you found him, or he found you."

Kurama just chuckled, but gave in. Which was good, because Hiei was more than ready to find his katana and start slicing strips off of the fox, friend or not. "Actually, Yusuke had no idea of where to go once you found him. Fortunately, Kuwabara was able to find a safer path around the area and locate the both of you. Poor Yusuke was frantic; all bloody and bruised and half out of his mind, and all he could think about was you."

The fox looked at Hiei pointedly, but the smaller youkai just grunted, and Kurama sighed in mild exasperation, but continued. "Naturally, I had a plant that works on a generalized basis against most poisons, so I was able to stabilize you before we started moving. Yusuke insisted on walking – more like staggering, actually – out of there on his own, so Kuwabara carried you." This obviously amused the fox, and Hiei closed his eyes, biting back a sharp retort. It wouldn't be the first time that the taller human had carried him while he was unconscious. He'd have to thank the idiot later, although as far as he was concerned, allowing Kuwabara to live was more than sufficient.

"After that, though," Kurama mused, brows furrowed slightly as he tilted his head slightly to the right, staring contemplatively at Hiei, who just frowned back, "it was, as Yusuke would say, 'game on'. Seems like our friend Uragiri finally realized that we had snuck in behind him and gotten to Yusuke. We were met outside by a veritable army. Things get a bit fuzzy after that," he admitted, and Hiei frowned, worried but unwilling to admit to it just yet. The fox prided himself on his ability to recollect even the tiniest of details. For him to not remember was rather unusual. Not to mention alarming.

The arms around him tightened, Yusuke's face burrowing into Hiei's hair as the teenager muttered, "Go'way, K'rama. Tired." He settled back down, seemingly quite content just to hold Hiei. The smaller youkai debated putting up a fight just to be petty, but decided that it actually felt quite nice where he was, and if it kept the other idiot asleep for a while, he'd take the cuddling over the yapping.

Certain that Yusuke was asleep once more, Hiei raised an eyebrow, and Kurama sighed. "Yusuke did something. I don't know what it was – I'm not entirely certain that he does, either. But whatever it was, it pretty much decimated our enemies. The few that were left standing bolted, leaving Uragiri all by his lonesome. Yusuke mumbled something or other, then passed out." The fox smiled wickedly, eyes darkening to something feral, and Hiei smiled back, baring his teeth. Without Yusuke to act as a buffer, Uragiri had no doubt met his demise, probably painfully.

Hiei almost regretted that it hadn't been himself or Yusuke who got to wipe out the traitor, but Kurama wasn't a bad third option, when it came down to it. The older youkai knew all sorts of plants that would leave a body screaming long before death claimed them. No doubt he had used several of them.

Finished, Kurama stood. "I need to let the others know that you two are doing fine, and that Yusuke should be waking shortly," he explained, his voice affectionate and gentle as he petted first Hiei's hair, then the Detective's. Yusuke just snuggled more tightly against Hiei, almost too restrictive, only letting up when Kurama left the room, his youki retreating as he headed downstairs towards the phone. Hiei found himself glad that the fox hadn't let the others stay here. They were probably waiting at Genkai's for news.

"Geez. I thought he'd never leave," Yusuke muttered irritably behind him, and Hiei just snorted. He sat up, and while Yusuke resisted briefly, the other boy eventually allowed him to sit up. Turning his head, Hiei glanced down at the Spirit Detective, who was now sprawled out on his back, his arms above his head as he stared back up at Hiei curiously. There was no fear in his eyes, and the physical wounds appeared to have healed while they were asleep. Yusuke's spirit energy was a steady thrum around him, and Hiei relaxed; their leader was going to be okay.

Yusuke must've at least guessed part of what he was thinking, because he grinned up at him and stretched leisurely, the sheet sliding down a little further to expose Yusuke's hip and the beginning of the curves to his slender backside. Burrowing further down into the pillow and turning onto his side again to face Hiei, Yusuke smiled, combing a hand nervously through his – now short – hair. "Thanks, Hiei. For finding me. For…coming. Even though it might be a trap. Again." The boy stuttered to a halt, and Hiei just raised an eyebrow, amused at the other male's discomfort. As if belatedly realizing just how much of his body was now exposed to the other youkai, Yusuke's hand reached down and tugged the sheets back up, though he let them drop at his stomach, rather than dragging them up to his chest, which was what Hiei had expected.

Figuring he probably ought to say something, Hiei replied gruffly, "You're welcome, Detective. Don't expect it to happen again anytime soon," he added. Yusuke just shook his head, smiling. Then the smile faded again, and his eyes took on a more somber expression. He looked almost sad, and Hiei felt a small niggle of worry. Had he said something wrong? Or was it just finally settling in how close Yusuke had come to dying.

Yawning, Yusuke mumbled, "Still tired. Gonna go back t'sleep." Pulling the covers up over his head, Yusuke curled up and closed his eyes as Hiei stared in disbelief. Was Yusuke being serious? He had survived a near-death experience – again – had just regained consciousness, and he was _going back to sleep_? What kind of moron was he? Didn't he know that the others were worried about him? Kurama could reassure them until he was blue in the face, but it wouldn't do any good until they got to see Yusuke with their own eyes.

Irritated, Hiei reached out and grabbed the covers, flipping them off of the other boy, only belatedly remembering that they were both completely naked. Whose stupid idea had that been, anyways? "Detective," he ground out. "You do not have the time, or the leisure, to lounge about here, sleeping away while the others are going out of their minds with worry for you. Do you not even have the common courtesy to talk to them yourself?" he growled. He so did not want to do this, but if Kurama wasn't going to push, then it was up to him.

Dark brown eyes slit open and glared up at him. "Give me back the covers, fire demon," Yusuke growled back up at him. "Then go away." Not waiting to see what the smaller youkai did, the younger male curled up in a ball, closing his eyes determinedly. Hiei allowed the covers to fall from his hands, and Yusuke quickly snatched them back up, covering his head again while Hiei tried to figure out what the hell was bothering him so much. It wasn't like they hadn't ever argued before. In fact, the heated banter was a regular part of their dealings with each other, when Hiei allowed himself to be baited by the other male, drawn in like the others to his brash charm. So why was this different?

Confused, and not liking it, Hiei started at the beginning, replaying their conversation – well, argument – in his mind. It wasn't the lecture – Yusuke knew better, and the fact that Hiei had spoken the words out loud was nothing but a prod for him to get up and do what he knew he had to do anyhow. So it had to have been after that, whatever it was that didn't sit well with him. _"Give me back the covers, fire demon."_ The words replayed themselves, echoing in Hiei's head, and he snarled. In all the years they'd known each other, never once had Yusuke called Hiei by anything other than his name, or possibly runt, but that was understandable. Never had he referred to him as anything else, though. Not half-breed, or fire demon, or even ice demon.

Hiei's eyes narrowed as he swiftly made the connection between their abruptly ended conversation and the lecture he had delivered just before. "Yusuke," he said out loud, for the first time within the Detective's hearing. The name sounded odd coming from him, as if it was a foreign word. He had always referred to the boy as Detective, or Urameshi, when speaking about him out loud. He had only thought of Yusuke in familiar terms in his head until now. "Yusuke," he said again, testing the word out, letting it hang in the air for a moment, before repeating it. "Yusuke," and this time, there was expectation in it.

The lump in the bed shifted, and a single brown eye peered up at him suspiciously. "What do you want, Hiei?" Yusuke grumbled, but at least he was answering, which Hiei took as a good sign. He just raised a single eyebrow and stared down at the Detective, waiting. After a moment, Yusuke growled and sat up once more, letting the covers pool in his lap, covering his front side, but leaving his backside disposed. Hiei fought to not let his eyes roam, knowing what he'd see, so instead, he let his appreciation for Yusuke's slender body fill his eyes. The other boy blushed gratifyingly, then slipped out of the bed, taking the sheets with him. This meant, of course, that he removed the covers entirely from Hiei.

Blinking, Yusuke blushed again as he realized what he had done, but his eyes ran across Hiei's exposed body quickly before meeting crimson eyes. The smaller youkai just smiled, showing sharp teeth as he stretched, his eyes closed as he purred contentedly, well aware that Yusuke was getting an eyeful. Shaking himself briefly, Hiei caught Yusuke's gaze with his own knowing one, and watched with pleasure as the boy blushed even darker. "Yusuke," he purred, the name rolling freely off his tongue now that he had finally allowed himself to do more than just think it.

Yusuke turned away self-consciously and cast about for some clean clothes, finding them sitting on a chair, washed and folded neatly. Kurama had insisted that they all have clothes at his place, and at Yusuke's, Kuwabara's, and Genkai's, just for such occasions. The fox had always been the one to think ahead, and it came in handy. Hiei slipped into his usual black outfit, securing his katana at his side and making sure his Jagan was properly sealed. His hair had straightened out into its normal spikes as soon as he had sat up, but Yusuke's hair was down, his bangs flopping over his eyes. Yusuke batted them away irritably, but didn't bother trying to find any hair gel. Kurama didn't need it, and neither he nor Hiei liked Yusuke's hair slicked back anyhow, so it wasn't worth searching for something that wasn't going to be there. Besides, he wasn't planning on getting into a brawl with any street punks right now; he was just going to reassure everybody that he was fine.

Hiei waited impatiently while Yusuke fussed with his hair. At last, the boy seemed satisfied and headed for the door, Hiei by his side. The steps were wide enough that they could both walk down them without crowding each other. At the bottom, they could hear Kurama in the living room. Yusuke looked at Hiei and mouthed, "Kuwabara." Hiei just grunted; he must still be more out of it than he thought for him not to have felt the other human. Then again, while his spirit awareness was rather impressive, his spiritual energy was hardly noticeably unless he was using his Spirit Sword. It was largely that which led Kuwabara's opponents to underestimate him each and every time.

Of course, Hiei thought unkindly as they rounded the corner into the living room, if any of Kuwabara's enemies actually took him seriously, he'd have been dead a hundred times over by now. He watched in undisguised glee as Yusuke dodged a grab from Kuwabara and kicked the other boy backwards, grouching about loudmouthed idiots. Of course, the other boy's presence had nothing to do with Yusuke's being awake, but like Hiei, the Spirit Detective enjoyed picking on the other boy. Settled comfortably in a recliner, his head tilted back and his eyes at half-mast, Kurama watched contentedly as Yusuke and Kuwabara greeted each other in their own way.

Deciding he had seen enough for the day, Hiei scowled at Kuwabara, ignored Yusuke, and nodded to Kurama before flitting out the nearest window. He'd scout the area, make sure there was nothing dangerous or suspicious in the vicinity, and report back to Kurama. After Kuwabara was gone. And maybe, just maybe, he'd come back to see Yusuke, too. After all, he wasn't anywhere near done with the Spirit Detective yet. Now that their most immediate enemy was dead, he could pursue the Mazoku at his leisure.

Hiei felt his lips curl into a smile as he contemplated the other boy at his mercy. Oh, he'd be gentle, for certain, but the fact remained that Yusuke had accepted his offer, and all that it entailed. Hiei had the feeling he'd enjoy getting to know the other male more intimately. Forcing his thoughts away from Yusuke, safe in Kurama's home, Hiei darted away. Safety first. Then there would be time to relax and play. He was looking forward to it. He was sure Yusuke was, too.


	14. Chapter 14

When Hiei returned to Kurama's house, the fox was waiting for him, sitting casually in the living room reading a book. Hiei wasn't curious enough about the title to ask, so he waited while the redhead set the book on the table by his side and gave him his attention. "Everything's all right?" Kurama asked softly, though they both knew that Hiei wouldn't have come back if it wasn't.

Still, the fire demon nodded. "Koenma's got various alarms set up nearby, just in case anybody thinks it's a good idea to try and get revenge for the death of their leader. How're things in the Makai?" he asked, knowing that the fox would have been keeping tabs on things there, especially where Yusuke's lands were concerned.

The delicate redhead shrugged. "They are as well as can be expected, I suppose. The toushin people are rounding up a few stragglers. Yomi and Mukuro seem content to wait and see what happens. Yusuke will need to go there shortly, though, and reassure his people. Right now, his advisors are telling them that their Lord was badly injured and may take a few days to recover." It was a bit of a stretch, but considering the boy would probably need the extra time, it was good that they were spreading such a rumor.

Hiei nodded, then glanced upwards. "He left?" he asked, a part of him snarling deep inside. He could understand wanting to be in your own territory, but the boy really wasn't in any condition to be leaving Kurama's hospitality. Besides, now Hiei would have to traipse halfway across town to meet up with the other boy at his apartment. Kurama's house was much nicer. And quieter.

Kurama's lips tilted upwards as he smiled innocently at Hiei. "Well, he said he wanted to go home. There was no reason to keep him here. Kuwabara went with him, just to make sure he made it home safely, of course," he added sweetly. Hiei bared his teeth at Kurama, his hand resting dangerously near his katana. A moment later, Kurama's expression fell serious again, and Hiei tensed up. "Don't hurt him," Kurama said softly.

Hiei stared at him in disbelief, trying to decide whether or not to be offended, then decided screw it, he'd be offended if he wanted to be. Hadn't they had this conversation already? Obviously, of the two of them, Yusuke trusted Hiei more than Kurama did. Answering with a low snarl, Hiei turned abruptly and left the house, letting the door slam satisfyingly behind him.

The nerve of that damn fox! What kind of insensitive jerk did he think Hiei was? True, he had no patience for idiocy, but the fact remained that he had been in a worse position than Yusuke, and he knew what the boy was feeling. He knew this might not be easy, but now that he had made his decision, he was determined to stick with it. If Yusuke really didn't want anything further between them, he'd discuss it with the boy, then. But for now, he had the all-clear.

Despite having never been to Yusuke's place before – Kurama's was always preferable, and Hiei had no interest in visiting a human apartment building – Hiei's feet led him unerringly towards the slightly poorer end of town. Yusuke was a king in his own right in the Makai, but that didn't translate to the human world. While he was able to afford to live on his own, he didn't have a job here in the human world and he didn't come from a rich family, so he had to be careful about where he lived. Keiko wouldn't even visit the boy in this part of town, despite the fact that it was actually a lot safer than it looked, being so close to the wealthier districts.

Hiei had never asked, but Keiko had once demanded to know why Yusuke didn't just use money from the Makai to live in comfort here. Yusuke had just shaken his head and told her, "I use enough to live off of, Keiko. I don't need more than that. Besides, that money is part of the treasury. I can't just take it as I see fit, even if I am king. That money belongs to the people."

Hiei and Kurama had both approved, and Kuwabara had nearly cried at how noble Yusuke was, but Keiko hadn't understood. Then again, she wanted Yusuke to be completely human, to stay here in the human world, with her. Yusuke would never be happy that way, though, and Hiei suspected that Keiko knew that, at least subconsciously, because she had never demanded marriage from him. She seemed content for now that they were friends, and that Yusuke trusted her with at least some of what went on in his life, even if he didn't tell her everything.

So, Yusuke had moved out of the house he had shared with his mother and into this apartment. Hiei wished the boy had spent just a little more money to have a place all to himself, but perhaps that could come later. For now, this would do, if only because Hiei had no other choice.

Leaping easily to the second floor, Hiei paced down the walkway until he came to Yusuke's apartment. The boy had at least spent the extra money to get a corner apartment, so he had more room than most of his neighbors. A quick check around, and Hiei realized that nobody lived under Yusuke right now, though he had next door neighbors. Pity.

Reaching out, Hiei tested the handle, finding the door unlocked. Either Yusuke had been expecting him, or he just wasn't that worried about bad guys waltzing in through his front door. Hiei rather hoped it had been the former, because the latter was just idiocy. Enemies didn't typically care about where they attacked, just that they were able to reach you. If he locked the door, they'd at least give him warning of an attack by breaking it down first.

Letting the door click softly closed behind him, Hiei turned the lock and pulled the blinds on the windows before padding silently into the living room, where the light of the television flickered, casting odd shadows across the room. Hiei highly doubted Yusuke was even watching the weather, as the volume was muted, and he was right. Yusuke was sprawled out across the couch, his right arm and leg over the edge and touching the floor. His head was tilted back, his eyes closed.

Hiei took a moment to enjoy the fact that Yusuke hadn't startled at his presence, even though he was making no efforts to hide his youki. The boy was dressed in a pair of dark blue sleep pants tied loosely and slipping halfway down his hips. His chest was bare, and Hiei realized that it was rather warm in the apartment.

Yusuke's eyes were closed as he dozed, but they'd flicker now and again under the lids, as if he was dreaming. Hiei wondered briefly if it was memories he was living through, but didn't pry. Instead, he stripped out of his own shirt, and removed his katana. He left on his pants, not interested in throwing the other boy into a panic.

He eyed the couch speculatively for a moment, trying to remember what Kurama had told Yusuke when he had convinced him to buy this one instead. Something about it folding out into a bed? Hiei grunted softly, deciding that it wasn't worth it to try and figure it out. Striding forward, he reached out a warm hand and touched Yusuke's bare shoulder. "Either change the couch, or move to the bed," he grumbled when Yusuke stirred, one eye slitting open to stare at him blearily.

Yusuke yawned, reaching his hands up to rub at his face as he levered himself into a sitting position. "Hiei? What're you doin' here, man?" he asked around the yawn, his voice heavy with sleep. Hiei repeated his earlier demand, and watched as awareness crept slowly into Yusuke's mind. The smaller youkai was rather gratified that his presence hadn't immediately set the boy into high alert mode, but watching his eyes turn wary was rather disappointing.

Pointedly, Hiei yawned. "I'm just as exhausted as you are," he grumbled. "And I don't feel like sleeping in a tree. You're here, I'm here. So I fail what the problem is." He didn't bother to point out that he had come here instead of just staying at Kurama's house, which was what he usually did; if Yusuke couldn't make the connection, that was his problem.

Yusuke frowned at him, but then nodded. "Yeah, okay. Bedroom it is, I suppose," he muttered, looking around. He fumbled around on the floor for a moment, while Hiei admired the curve of his back, and finally located the remote. Flipping off the television, Yusuke stood and stumbled off in the direction of what Hiei assumed was the bedroom.

If Hiei had had any expectations regarding the bed after seeing the size of the apartment, they were smashed to bits when he beheld the magnificent King-size bed sitting innocently in the middle of the bedroom. Yusuke had given up any space he might've had for a dresser and desk in favor of the bed, and there was a path on three of the four sides for walking. The bed's headboard was pushed up against the fourth wall, right below the window. Moonlight shone across a dark blue comforter, and when Yusuke climbed into the bed, settling down in the center with a blissful sigh, he sunk down so that only his head was visible above the covers.

Hiei grinned to himself; in this one thing, at least, Yusuke had given up expediency in exchange for utter luxury. Leaping lightly onto the bed, Hiei burrowed under the covers, allowing his body to slide down the dip Yusuke had made, pressing him up against the other male's heat. Yusuke chuckled at his slightly childish antics, and strong arms wrapped easily around Hiei, pulling his back against Yusuke's chest. Debating for just a moment, Hiei wriggled in Yusuke's grip as he turned around, his hair brushing against the taller boy's throat and making him giggle. Yusuke's hand swatted Hiei's hip lightly as the smaller youkai finally settled down, burying his face in the Mazoku's chest.

"Comfortable?" Yusuke asked, his voice amused, and Hiei just grunted in reply, his eyes slipping closed. That Yusuke had accepted his presence so readily was a good sign. Even better was the fact that he had believed Hiei when the fire demon had said he was just there to sleep. The boy was still a little tense, as if expecting Hiei to change his mind and push for intimacy, but Hiei had time. It's not like a youkai's life was short by any means, at least not compared to a human. They had plenty of time, and while Hiei's patience wouldn't last forever, he could afford to wait a week or two before trying for more, if that's all Yusuke would tolerate.

He allowed himself to doze, and felt the change in Yusuke's breathing as the younger male settled back into sleep. It wasn't long before he had fallen deeply enough asleep to start having dreams. At Hiei's back, Yusuke's hands flexed, and power whispered across both their bodies. Hiei basked in the warmth, curling further into Yusuke's embrace, a rumbling purr escaping his throat. Yusuke settled back down with a soft sigh, and Hiei smiled to himself.

"What do you dream of, Yusuke?" he breathed into the silence of the room. He hadn't really expected an answer, so he was surprised when he got one, in the form of a tug in his mind. Hiei realized that he had allowed the boy to get too close, that the connection between them was more or less permanent now. He could still sever it, but it would probably cause Yusuke to retreat further away from him, thinking that Hiei was rejecting him without really understanding all the implications. Hiei supposed he'd have to explain things to the other boy soon, and let Yusuke make a decision, but for now, he'd see where the pull took him.

Bracing himself, Hiei allowed himself to be pulled in Yusuke's dream, hoping that it wasn't anything too traumatizing this time around.

_His enemy was there, right there, and Yusuke was determined not to let him escape. Moving faster than he had thought possible, fueled by his rage at the senseless deaths around him, Yusuke was in front of the toushin traitor and had him on the ground before he knew what had happened. He was pretty sure he had broken at least one of the bastard's bones._

_Uragiri bared his teeth up at Yusuke, and the Mazoku snarled back, his fingers tightening as his claws dug into unprotected flesh, cutting off the other youkai's air. Still the other youkai smiled, and Yusuke's eyes narrowed, his sense of danger increasing. Behind him, Youko cried out. "Yusuke! Run!" Yusuke felt the fox running towards him, Hiei just ahead of him, quicker than Youko. Still, there was no time left._

_Yusuke was already pulling back, moving on instinct at Youko's warning cry, but a part of him already knew it was too late. He had fallen for the trap, and now he'd have to pay for his impulsiveness. He didn't know what look was on his face, but he had a moment to see a sort of wild desperation on Hiei's face before he felt a sharp tug and the universe shifted around him, leaving him sick and dizzy._

_Yusuke landed in the same position he had been in when he left, two steps away from Uragiri, who was sitting up, rubbing his throat. Yusuke felt the youkai surrounded him before he saw them, and before he had time to fire off a spirit gun, he was slammed to the ground, the weight of two dozen youkai pinning him to the ground. His arms were wrenched behind his back, and Yusuke snarled, his markings dark on his skin as his eyes glowed. He wasn't going down without a fight._

_Tensing his body, Yusuke jerked himself forward, ignoring the screaming of his shoulders as he dragged half a dozen youkai away from the pile. They quickly fell beneath his fists. A spirit shotgun, and eight more crumpled to the ground. More youkai poured in from either side of him, and Yusuke wondered inanely why the bad guys always had more back-up._

_Turning to face one of the oncoming groups, Yusuke felt the sudden increase of youki to his right. He spun in Uragiri's direction, slipping to the side just as a blast of amber yellow power shot from the toushin's hands. It clipped his shoulder and sent him in a half spin, and before he could recover his balance, his head smacked the stone floor as claws and teeth tore into him, more youkai pinning him down._

_Memories flashed through him, of a dark cell and chains and a terrifying touch, and Yusuke bucked violently, cracking his head against the floor again, the bright spark of pain leaving him reeling. "Ow, shit, damn, ow, fuck!" he swore muzzily. He felt his body being dragged down the hall and into a room, where his arms were pulled out and over his head, uncomfortable but not painful yet. His legs were shackled as well, and then the youkai pulled away, leaving him sitting there, his injuries throbbing lightly, the stone cold against his bare back. He wondered when the attacking youkai had shredded his shirt._

"_You really don't know when to quit, do you?" Uragiri spoke from the doorway. Yusuke glared up at him, blinking hard to try and make the stones on the walls stop warping. "I need you alive, my lord. So if you wouldn't mind terribly much, please do not cause any more trouble, or I just may have to kill you instead. And that would just be tragic."_

_Uragiri walked into the room, and Yusuke wondered if he'd get close enough for the Mazoku to bite him. It wasn't like he had many other options, he thought glumly, testing the chains on his wrists. They held firm, as he had known they would. Crouching in front of him, Uragiri sighed and gave Yusuke a look that was almost regretful. Almost._

"_I was hoping not to have to do this, but it looks like you're determined to cause trouble. So consider this your warning," Uragiri said. His hand darted out and touched the center of Yusuke's chest. Instantly, white-hot fire flooded his veins, sending burning jolts of agony through his body. Yusuke's body arched in his bonds, his throat open as he emitted a terrible shriek, writhing against the pain but unable to escape it. _

_When Uragiri released him, Yusuke was horrified to feel the tears falling from his eyes. He swallowed roughly, tasting blood in his mouth. He must've run his fangs through his lips when the pain had first hit him. His body shuddered and twitched as he choked, trying to fill his lungs with air, his heartbeat frantic in his chest as if it was trying to escape from its cage._

"_I trust we have an understanding now," his captor crooned. Yusuke wanted to spit in his face, but self-preservation won and he held his tongue, still gasping for air. The Mazoku watched as Uragiri's shadow stood, moving away from him and towards the door. "Just stay quiet for a little while. That's all I'm asking," Uragiri told him, before the door shut with a heavy bang._

_Yusuke sighed, his body slowly recovering from the pain. He winced as his other injuries made themselves known, no longer masked by the agony of Uragiri's touch. His wrists were rubbed raw from his struggles, and his lip was pierced through on the right side. Various other cuts and bruises were clamoring to be felt as well. Overall, Yusuke was sure that being hit by that car had been less painful than this._

_The Mazoku almost smiled. No doubt Hiei was searching for him now. Kurama, too. He'd be in for an earful once he got out of here. Especially if his friends had to come in and rescue him. Again. At least this time, though, the only one he had to worry about was himself. Settling in as comfortably as possible given his location, Yusuke closed his eyes and waited._

Hiei's eyes opened into darkness, but he was aware of Yusuke watching him. Shifting, he felt the seal around his Jagan slip, and Hiei sighed. He'd have to get Koenma to craft a stronger one again. His power had grown in recent months, and the current seal wasn't enough to reign in his Jagan anymore.

Yusuke hadn't moved, but his breathing was steady as he watched Hiei in the dark, the moonlight making his eyes gleam. The smaller youkai supposed that now was as good a time as any for an explanation. Maybe it would be more acceptable to Yusuke here, in the dark and intimacy of his room, without the bright sunshine to help make it real.

"When we were captured the first time," Hiei murmured, moving straight into his explanation, "something must have happened that helped to link our minds together. It could have been my Jagan, or some new use of your own Spirit Energy, but it hardly matters at this point. My Jagan is typically only used to see great distances, but I was warned that it might, on occasion, allow me to see much further, and much deeper, than I might expect. I…didn't understand at the time. Now I do."

Hiei fell silent, waiting for Yusuke to process the new information. The other boy didn't move from where he was wrapped around Hiei, though, and the fire demon was oddly warmed by that. "So what you're saying is that you can't really help being in my head?" Yusuke asked.

Hiei thought about that seriously for a moment, then shook his head. "Not exactly. Once I get a stronger seal for the Jagan, that'll help. Also, it's not just one way. I can find you with my Jagan, but I don't have to barge in. But you can pull me in."

Yusuke frowned down at him, shifting away a little so that he could see Hiei better. "Are you saying that this is my fault?" he demanded unhappily. Hiei shook his head and sighed, sitting up. It looked like he might be in for a long conversation, when all he really wanted to do was curl back up and sleep for the next several hours.

"I'm not saying it's anybody's fault," he clarified. "It happened, now we deal with it. You asked if I had a choice in whether or not to intrude. The answer is 'yes', but if you're going to open your mind to me, then I'm going to let myself fall, because you obviously don't want to talk about it. And if it's easier this way, then that's fine, too. Now, if you're done talking, I'd like to get some more sleep. I have to go see Koenma in the morning," Hiei scowled.

Yusuke just smiled up at him, that easy grin that Hiei was so used to seeing directed at himself and the others now. Warm arms reached up, and Hiei didn't waste any time curling back into the other boy's arms, sighing in bliss as he was held firmly, but not too tightly. Fingers combed lightly through his hair, and Yusuke murmured, "It really is as soft as fur." Hiei didn't deign to comment on the observation, closing his eyes determinedly, and Yusuke chuckled softly. "All right. I'll keep my comments to myself so you can get your beauty sleep," he teased, but he fell silent as promised, still stroking through Hiei's hair.

This time, when they fell asleep, neither one was disturbed by memories of the past. Instead, they felt safe, entwined together, warm and comfortable.


	15. Chapter 15

Hiei awoke to an embarrassed squeal and irritable mumbling as Botan zipped cheerfully through Yusuke's window, not bothering to check first to see if they were even decent. Luckily, they were both in sleep pants, Yusuke being uncomfortable naked and Hiei utterly indifferent. Still, he had forgotten that both Yusuke and Kuwabara often complained that the ferry girl had a bad tendency to burst in on them at the most inconvenient times.

Ignoring Botan's flustered ramblings, Hiei dressed himself then leapt easily out Yusuke's window, leaving the boy to deal with the blue-haired female. Her overly-cheerful personality usually left him in a foul mood for hours. No doubt Yusuke would report whatever she had to say later. For now, though, Hiei supposed he ought to go see Kurama. The fox had probably already heard from Botan, and sent her their way for fun.

He chuckled to himself as he heard Yusuke's raised voice. "Botan! Can't you at least call first or somethin'?" Turning away, he headed for Kurama's home, leaving Yusuke to deal with his uninvited guest. Hopefully she'd at least be able to tell them something useful before she lost coherency altogether.

Slowing as he neared Kurama's neighborhood, Hiei frowned; the fox wasn't home. Hiei hadn't passed him, and the fox would have told him if he was heading for Genkai's. Which meant that he was either in the Spirit World – unlikely, as Botan was here – or he was in the Makai, trying to keep track of the chaos surrounding Yusuke's second rescue. As that was more probable, Hiei turned around and headed back for Yusuke's place. Botan was gone when he slipped in the door, which had been unlocked between last night and his return, and Yusuke was waiting for him, his expression intent.

"I've gotta go to the Makai, Hiei," he said. The fire demon just nodded; he had suspected as much, though he had hoped Yusuke might have another day or two. "That bastard caused a lot of damage, and there's still unrest among my people. This isn't gonna be fixed just because the ringleader is dead now," he admitted unhappily.

Hiei just shrugged. "War is easier to start than end," he stated simply. "Kurama is probably there already, either in your lands or with Yomi. I need to see Mukuro, you need to see to your people." Yusuke just nodded his agreement, picked up a small pack that had been lying at his feet, and walked out the door, Hiei at his side. Botan must've given Yusuke coordinates, because the boy headed east, occasionally glancing down at a small compact in his hand that beeped and flickered.

When they arrived, Yusuke stopped, scowling. "Wow. Things must be really bad if this is the portal," he grumbled. Hiei silently agreed; they were standing above a street grate. With a sigh, Yusuke tugged the large grate out of its place and set it aside. One of Koenma's people would probably close it and the portal once they were through.

Yusuke made a small retching sound at the smell, but then leapt in feet first. A flash of light indicated that he had hit the barrier and was in the in-between area that separated the Ningenkai from the Makai. With a small grimace of disgust, Hiei followed, grateful when he joined Yusuke in the portal's tunnel. He could feel the gate closing behind them as they took off down the straight path, heading for the Makai. As they ran, Yusuke's power breathed around them, his hair sprouting as his Mazoku markings appeared across his skin. He would be going into the Makai as a King, not a human. Hiei approved, but maintained his stoic silence. Whatever happened in the toushin's lands would depend on what Yusuke did in the next several hours or days.

The two youkai were spilled rather unceremoniously into the Makai, landing swiftly on their feet and looking around. They were right on the border between Yusuke's lands and Mukuro's, and Hiei wasted no time. Without so much as a wave, he turned and headed for Mukuro. Both he and Kurama had chosen to help Yusuke rather than their former lords, but they were both welcome in the lands of both great youkai. Hiei wanted to know what Mukuro intended to do about the unrest in Yusuke's lands. He was hoping that she had decided on a wait-and-see policy, but Mukuro wasn't as patient as Yomi, so she might decide to try and take a hand in settling the problem instead.

Hiei felt several the calm youki of toushin behind him, indicating that some of Yusuke's advisors had come to meet him. No doubt they'd have sage advice to offer, which their ruler might or might not actually pay attention to. Yusuke's aura flared up slightly in response to their sudden appearance, but settled quickly. The Mazoku was still wary, but not about to attack, and Hiei stopped worrying. If Yusuke's advisors were stupid enough to get themselves killed because they startled their king, that was their problem.

Mukuro was sitting idle in her fortified castle when Hiei walked up, the guards nodding a respectful greeting at him as they let him pass. Hiei ignored them, intent on his own mission. The youkai lord stood to greet him as he entered, and Hiei bowed briefly before straightening up again. He hadn't knelt before her in years. "Ah, Hiei. I had the feeling you'd be coming to visit. So much excitement lately," Mukuro spoke with a quiet amusement.

Hiei nodded. "Yes. Lord Urameshi is here now, reassuring his people," he responded formally. "However, I wish only to verify that you do not intend to interfere." Hiei spoke as bluntly as he always had. There was no need for him to dance around the topic with Mukuro. She wouldn't appreciate it even if he did, which suited him just fine.

Her head tilted back as Mukuro laughed, the sound joyous and filled with mirth. "Oh, Hiei. I wouldn't dream of trying to claim the boy's lands right now." Crimson eyes stared at her steadily, not entirely convinced, and she smiled at him, her face bare. She had no need to hide here in her own home. "I'm quite serious, Hiei," he murmured. "That boy is strong in his own right, and he's here, trying to make things right among his people. He could have abandoned the toushin people after the betrayal, but he has chosen to truly be king. Both Yomi and I have great respect for him, even if it's not always obvious."

Hiei shook his head. He knew that they both respected Yusuke, but he hadn't realized that they saw the same thing in the Mazoku as Hiei and Kurama did. An inner strength that would never fail him, a heart that was capable of both mercy and compassion, and an incorrigible desire to do the right thing. It was what had gotten him killed twice now. Hiei still considered it a miracle that the other boy was alive. Koenma had saved him the first time, giving him a second chance at life with the help of Kuwabara and Keiko. And his own ancestry had saved him the second time, giving him a part of his heritage that he would have never imagined existed.

Hiei often wondered why it was that everybody else saw Yusuke's redeeming qualities so much more quickly than he had. Then again, when he had first met the Spirit Detective, the boy had been new and hunting him. Hiei was just glad now that Yusuke had beaten him by sheer luck. If it had been anything else, Hiei would've been screwed.

"Will you stay here for a while?" Mukuro's question broke Hiei out of his thoughts, and he shook his head; he needed to meet up with Kurama, and then they needed to go see how Yusuke was doing. "Very well, then," Mukuro replied easily. "But at least rest here for a while. I'm sure that while Lord Urameshi would no doubt appreciate your presence, it is, perhaps, not what he needs right now."

Hiei glared at her, wanting to be angry, but well aware that she spoke only the truth. What Yusuke needed to do right now was focus on his land, on his people. He needed to ensure that the dead got proper burials, and that the living were taken care of. He had to try and restore the land, and before that, he'd have to crush any pockets of resistance that still existed. No doubt with Uragiri gone, they'd be in a state of confusion right now, but that didn't make them less dangerous, just desperate. And sometimes, desperation made them more dangerous, because they had nothing to lose, and nobody to reign them in.

The desire to rush to Yusuke's side flooded through Hiei, but he grit his teeth and nodded acceptance of Mukuro's gracious offer. If anything happened to the Mazoku, Hiei would know. For now, though, he realized that his very desire to see the other boy was detrimental. For both of them. Yusuke would need to stand on his own, to show his people that he was strong enough to protect himself, and them. His toushin advisors would provide their assistance, and Yusuke had friends and allies among his people that would help him take on any enemies.

Hiei allowed Mukuro to lead him to a guest suite, not questioning it. Mukuro hadn't used servants to attend to Hiei in years, and he was, in a strange way, touched by that. They had been lovers for a brief while, but Hiei had been too angry, too much of a villain, to stay with her for long. She might be a powerful youkai lord, and was ruthless in battle, but she still felt those softer emotions, too. At the time, Hiei hadn't felt any of that, and their romps had meant little more to him than stress relief, a brief moment of indulgence before he was back to stealing or killing or whatever it was he felt like doing.

Now, Hiei realized that they would have never worked together anyhow, and the realization was a relief. Neither he nor Mukuro had any obligations to each other as lovers. Their past had bound them together, but neither one had any interest in holding on to the other. So things would stay as they were between them.

Mukuro turned to look back at him. "What are you thinking about, Hiei?" she asked, and her voice was genuinely curious. There was no ill intent meant by the question, and Hiei decided to answer her as honestly as possible.

"I'm thinking that I've finally found what I'm looking for," he replied. "I think I might actually be happy." Mukuro smiled back at him, but said nothing, continuing on her way, Hiei following her, turning his newest revelation over and over in his head. It was an odd feeling, the knowledge that you just might have found the one thing in the whole world that could make you happy. Hiei savored the emotions, and the handful of servants they passed were smart enough to keep silent, though later they'd whisper in hushed tones about the odd sight of a smiling fire demon.


End file.
